The People We Could Be
by MissMonsters2
Summary: Canon-Divergence. Senior year, graduation. All these years, no matter how hard she tried, she never truly could get herself to belong. This was supposed to be the last happy time. Rachel was going to move onto better things, to become a star soon. Abandoned and betrayed, she'll get a second chance at everything. Faberry. Time Travel.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Little Lost Lamb**

Admitting defeat was something Rachel Berry would never dream of doing. But even she realized that somethings couldn't be forced, no matter how hard she tried or didn't try for that matter.

And that matter…was that she would never belong with her high school peers. She thought Glee would somehow bring her the closeness she craved and she would find a place that even she could belong with. It's not like she's oblivious. She knows she high-strung, talks too much, annoying, different, and all the other things she's heard about herself. She just thought Glee would accept her the way she was because it wasn't like anyone in the club was perfect either. Yet for some reason, they could all accept each other flaws and all, except her. She was always on the outside.

Granted, it got better over the years. While she didn't get slushied anymore, she still had to avoid run-ins with Azimio. She doesn't wear argyle anymore, got highlights in her hair and no longer pinned it awkwardly, which was she supposed was a nice change. But she was still…Rachel Berry.

She sighed, looking around the dimmed room crowded with people and listened to the awful loud music booming throughout the house. It was January and Puck decided to throw a party for the sake of throwing a party.

It was going to be the last one she went to, she decided. Graduation was coming soon, four long years and while she was sad and nostalgic about graduating, she was excited to move on. She was going to NYADA, the start of truly becoming a star, and she was confident she would meet her group of people. After all, it was a school filled with people who more or less had the same ambitions as she.

"Rachel!"

The brunette turned towards the sound of her name being called, her red solo cup filled more with Vodka than pop spilling slightly over the edge as she turned. She saw Brittany skipping towards her and she offered the girl a smile.

"Hi Brittany," Rachel greeted politely, "Where's Santana?"

The blonde nodded her head towards the kitchen. "She's destroying Artie and Matt at beer pong, it was too depressing for me to continue watching."

"By herself?"

The blonde nodded again. "Where's Finn and Kurt?"

Rachel shrugged, not really wanting to get into it. She and Finn had a fight at the beginning of the party and he was off partying and ignoring her. She hadn't told anyone yet, but Finn proposed to her and she hasn't given her boyfriend an answer. She loved Finn, she supposed, and she knew Finn loved her even if he only proposed to her out of fear of his life going nowhere and he would be alone.

Kurt had abandoned her in search of Blaine and Mercedes as soon as they arrived. He may have been slightly annoyed with her because he came over before the party to help choose an outfit and makeup for the night, but she had bickered with him on everything he chose.

She would've said yes if she also didn't feel like she was on the outside with Finn too.

"I'm not sure, drinking with Noah perhaps?"

Brittany gave her a lopsided half-pity frown before taking the brunette's cup and setting it aside.

"Let's dance a little!" She exclaimed, already pulling Rachel through the throng of people onto the makeshift dance floor.

As the beat got louder, thrumming at her skin as they got closer to the speakers, bouncing and swaying, Rachel smiled a little.

Although on the outside, it didn't hurt that there were moments of niceness.

* * *

Blurriness.

That's what Rachel would describe herself…or the room. After dancing, Brittany dragged her to the kitchen to partake in drinking games, and Rachel Berry is a winner if anything.

She sloppily made her way up to the bathroom, not missing Finn's angry face as she passed him. She rolled her eyes, she was not in the mood to go at it again with him. Pushing open the door and stumbling in, Rachel quickly realized that the bathroom was occupied.

"Rachel," the tone was surprised and in a way soft.

"Quinn," she slurred back. She willed herself to sober up a little. Her eyes focused in a little and she looked at the blonde in her jeans and a simple blouse.

Quinn always looked good, she thought.

"Sorry…didn't know someone was in here…" Rachel mumbled. She could already feel herself becoming awkward.

Although she and Quinn ceased fire long ago, the blonde was always someone who kept her at arms' length, no matter how many time Rachel offered her friendship.

Whatever they had now was at most tentative and fragile. Some days, Quinn would be crabbier with her and sling an unveiled insult before saying sorry in her own Quinn way the next day. Some days, she could sit with Quinn on the bleachers and Quinn would let her rattle about whatever was coming to her mind.

She had seen Quinn through everything and when she thought they were taking a good step towards friendship, Quinn would almost immediately regress, then apologize, and then they were back at neutral zone.

"Are you…drunk?" Quinn asked, eyeing the brunette who leaned against the sink counter. Rachel turned on the tap, running her hand under the cool water, almost sighing at the touch.

"If by drunk you mean everything is spinning a little, then affirmative. But in good reason Quinn, I must say I am astonishing at flip cup but could use a little work for beer pong."

She could've sworn she heard the blonde chuckle.

"Who did you play against?"

"Santana…" Rachel muttered, disappointedly.

She heard Quinn sigh knowingly, almost with pity.

"Well, I highly doubt NBA players could beat Santana at beer pong."

Rachel suddenly stood straighter.

"Quinn, it's not fair! Santana _whips_ it into the cup, she's basically bullying the ball to land in the cup!"

Quinn's laugh was a little more vocal this time. She was about to say something else when a drunken couple stumbled into the bathroom, pushing the small brunette right into Quinn's arms.

Steadying herself, Quinn glared at the couple.

"Watch it!" She snapped, though she highly doubted they even registered what was going on. Rolling her eyes, she looked down at Rachel who was gripping the front of her shirt to keep herself from falling.

"Okay, let's get out of here before tweedle dee and tweedle dumb here decide to give us a show."

The blonde helped Rachel down the stairs and suggested maybe calling it a night for the star, offering the girl a ride before Finn showed up, swaying slightly in front of them.

"Rachel!" He bellowed, clearly intoxicated.

The sight of Finn seemed to make Rachel stiffen and sober up marginally.

"We're…we're having our talk right now!" Finn said, pulling the girl out of Quinn's hold and out onto the porch.

Stumbling before Finn decided they were in a good spot, Rachel shivered out in the cold. Her sleeveless shirt clearly not abundant for winter in Lima.

"Finn, don't you think we can finish this conversation perhaps tomorrow when we're both not inebriated?" The cold was quickly sobering up the girl, she wanted to go back inside.

Finn scrunched his face at her words before shaking his head.

"No, Rach, I want to have this talk right now. I'm sorry about earlier and I really love you. Marry me." Finn said all in one breath, holding out the ring box once again in front of her.

Rachel thought she heard some shuffling at the door before shaking her head and sighing.

"Finn, I don't want to have this conversation right now."

"Rach, just give me the answer."

"I don't have one yet!"

"I've given you so much time! How come you don't have an answer?"

"You can't force an answer, Finn!"

"Why won't you just say yes! We're supposed to be endgame!"

"Because!"

"Because what?" Finn exasperatedly blared.

"Because I want to say no!"

As soon as Rachel said it, her jaw snapped shut. Finn looked at her, hurt quickly overcoming his face. Rachel sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Finn—" the ring box snapped shut. Without another word, Finn walked off and left her behind.

"Damn it," she muttered, staying outside for another minute before going back in to find Quinn. She was ready to go home.

Back inside, she found Quinn sitting between Santana and Brittany, having a drink herself now.

"Quinn?"

The blonde looked up at her and her eyes cooly gazing back.

"Why are you drinking? I thought you were taking me home?"

The sight of Quinn rolling her eyes made Rachel shrink a little.

"What am I, your keeper? Find your own ride home, Berry." The biting tone hit Rachel in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes flitted over from Brittany and Santana who didn't even look at her.

"Oh, um, okay. Sorry." Rachel lamely uttered before turning away, hurt cascading over her the way it always did when Quinn was callous towards her.

She walked off, quickly wanting to get out of the blonde's line of sight. She gathered her coat and looked at her phone.

It was only midnight.

She bit her lips, thinking about her fathers were out of town and wouldn't be back until next week. Everyone she knew here was crashing and too drunk to drive.

Well, it was only 30 minutes away. She's on her elliptical longer than it would take her to walk home. Lima was a small town, hardly anything ever happened.

She was tired. She was sad. She wanted to go home and lay in her own bed. The only people she really talked to weren't going to talk to her tonight, so she definitely didn't want to stay at Noah's for the night.

Resigned, Rachel put on her coat and left without saying goodbye.

The night was cold, Rachel was glad that she decided to listen to Kurt and wear pants instead of a skirt. There was still snow on the ground and she could see her breath every time she breathed.

She still felt a little tipsy, but nowhere as drunk as she was earlier. It wasn't bad though, she had walked 5 blocks so far. She would be home in no time, she told herself.

She walked around the road on the side, careful of where she stepped. Noah lived in a different part of town than her, it was shrouded in the woods, so there were no sidewalks until she hit the main road. She pulled her jacket closer, puffing out some air.

A car zoomed past her, stopped a few feet before backing up.

"Hey, Man-Hands!"

Rachel looked up and came face to face with Azimio sticking his head out the window from the back seat. She eyed the car and found it at him, another football player driving, and some Cheerios. She eyed them all saw their flushed faces, including the driver.

"It's not safe to drive while under the influence," she offered before continuing her walk, hoping they'd just leave her alone. Everyone but the driver exited the car and started to trot behind her.

"How cute, Man-Hands is worried about us. Or sad, since we slushied her nearly every day until fucking Q made us stop."

Rachel didn't say anything, she kept walking. She had always thought it was Finn who finally stood up for her and made people stop throwing the frozen liquids at her, but to stop and ask more questions was stupid, even to Rachel.

"Maybe she actually likes being slushied!" A girl on the Cheerios laughed.

Rachel picked up her speed, but that seemed to annoy the crowd.

"Hey, Man-Hands! We're talking to you, don't be fucking rude." A girl spat, grabbing onto the back of Rachel's jacket and yanking the small girl back. She stumbled right into Azimio's arms and heard the laughter.

"My god, she's really just throwing herself at the whole football team. Look how cute she is in your arms, Azimio."

Azimio leered at her and Rachel roughly pushed him back, causing the drunk football player to stagger back, nearly falling over his own feet.

The Cheerio in front of her pushed Rachel back in return. "Watch it, Man-Hands! You think you're all that leaving this town and no longer slushied? You're still a fucking loser!"

Azimio steadied himself before glaring at the small brunette and reaching out to grab at her. He ripped her jacket off, the buttons snapping right off from the force before pushing her down the trench. She immediately careened over, rolling down the snowed path and landed on her right ankle awkwardly.

"Maybe you can't get slushied at school anymore, but there ain't no rule you can't get snowed!"

Rachel groaned as she heard laughter at the top, it slowly dissipating as Rachel realized they were leaving.

"You sure she can make it back okay?" She heard another male voice, most likely the driver.

"Yeah, just drive Bobby, there ain't no cell in this Jacket, she'll be fine, just a prank."

She heard tires screech lightly before she was alone. Hoisting herself up, putting her hand against the tree, she winced knowing her ankle was sprained.

She looked around, debating what to do. She was already feeling the chill hit her skin, goosebumps uncomfortably setting across her skin with the snow on her arms and back.

Her first immediate thought was she should call the police, but she quickly scratched that.

What would she even say?

 _'Hi, I'm stranded in the cold leaving a party and sprained my ankle.'_

That hardly sounded like an emergency.

She could try to walk back to Noah's, she thought. She wasn't that far. Looking up from the bottom, she decided she should walk through the woods, it would be faster than trying to climb out with her ankle.

Rachel pulled the phone out from her back pocket, glad that she had left it there instead of putting it in her coat. Hopping on her good foot, she looked at the battery. Only 10%. She bit her lip.

She quickly dialed Kurt's number.

It went to voicemail.

She tried Finn next. Sure, they just had a huge fight, but surely he would pick up. He never _not_ picked up when she called, even in previous fights they had.

It went to voicemail.

She then tried Quinn's number. She had never really called the girl before, except once at sectionals to see where she was at before the competition started.

It rang once before the call dropped, meaning Quinn saw but declined her call.

She even tried Noah since she got his number a while back when he needed help choosing a present for his little sister, who did adore Rachel.

It went to voicemail.

She tried Tina's number, but the girl didn't go to the party tonight as she had something going on with her family and was most likely already in bed.

She sighed, resting against a tree. She was getting tired and she was quickly losing dexterity in her fingers from the cold. It was 10 degrees out and Rachel knew if she didn't make it back soon or if someone didn't come to get her, she would really be in trouble.

Coming to realize that she only had 5 people to contact that wasn't here dads. She offhandedly thought this was a misfortunate week for her parents to go to Jamaica and have their phones off.

Her phone battery was draining with the calls she was making. Her fingers were frozen, but she still managed to send a text out to everyone.

 _'Please pick up your phones, I really need you to come get me.'_ It was painstakingly slow with her numb fingers.

Her jeans were stiff with the snow that made her pants damp and it felt like pins and needles all over. Jaw trembling, she realized she couldn't get up anymore.

Forcing her fingers once more, she dialed Quinn's number.

It went straight to voicemail without ringing.

Tears well up, she's not sure why it hurt so much. Wasn't she always on the outside?

She didn't belong with them.

Maybe if it was anyone else but her, they would've picked their phone up. Maybe if she wasn't uptight, high-strung, bossy, talkative, and…and a _loser…_ they would pick up.

With only 2% left, she dialed again, her eyes drooping as she did. It doesn't feel as cold as it did now.

 _"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"_

 _'Hello?'_ Rachel thought, but her mouth wouldn't make any sounds.

 _"Hello? Is anyone there? Please respond."_

 _'I'm here, I'm here, I'm alone…'_

She could still hear them talking but her eyes were no longer open.

Her breathing slowed. An eerie calm washed over her, or was that the coldness?

In.

.

.

Out.

.

.

In.

.

.

Out.

.

.

.

In.

.

.

.

 _Out…_

* * *

 **A/N: New story, writing this as a good breather from my Twilight sequel. Been pretty into Faberry lately if you can't tell if you follow me on Tumblr haha. Please do not ask about the Twilight Sequel on this fic, I will not respond to it. It's still in the works, it will be eventually published.**

 **That being said, give this a whirl! Enjoy the ride, give a review (please validate me) :)**

 **FYI: Degrees in Fahrenheit (Dammit America). At that temperature, 2 mins you lose dexterity, in 15 mins you are exhausted or lose consciousness. Expected survival time is 15 - 45 mins**

 **See ya'll next time! Follow me on Tumblr MissMonsters2, you can bother me about the sequel there. Hope to see reviews :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - The Lion Looks For the Lamb**

The night had quiet down. Everyone had pretty much gone home or was passed out. Quinn turned her head to see Santana and Brittany unabashedly cuddle each other while fast asleep. She slowly sat up, wincing as she had some cricks in her back and neck from lying on the uncomfortable carpet floor, she wasn't drunk enough to pass out and not mind it.

As she got up to go stretch, she found Finn lying in the corner near Puck and she fought the urge to go over and kick him right in the stomach repeatedly.

She heard him propose.

To Rachel.

They were probably engaged now and she couldn't believe how selfish Finn would be to ask Rachel to marry him. The boy had no aspiration or plans. He didn't love New York like Rachel did; he would probably hate the busy city.

He was going to destroy the light in Rachel eventually. She knew he would with his selfish tendencies, temperament, and he just didn't love Rachel enough.

He didn't love Rachel like Quinn did.

The blonde sighed as she went upstairs; it was relatively empty, a couple people on the couch, some on the floor. A lot of solo cups lying around and the smell alone was enough to make Quinn want to gag. Going into the kitchen, she grabbed herself some water and pulled out her phone.

Quinn had turned it off earlier when she first saw a call come in from Rachel. She was already regretting being so mean to the girl, but when she heard Finn propose, this ugly feeling that settled in her stomach made her so angry and there was no way she could talk to the girl without saying something she'd really regret. So, she turned her phone off. She left as soon as she heard Finn ask, she didn't think she could bear to listen to Rachel say yes. Her jaw flexed as she clenched her teeth, thinking about how she was going to apologize to the girl who was now probably sleeping in her own bed at home.

She looked at the microwave as her phone slowly turned back on.

It was just a little after 4am. The sun wasn't even up yet. Her home screen finally displayed and Quinn scrunched her eyes up as she saw she had a couple missed calls from Rachel and a text message.

She opened the text message and frowned.

 _Please pick up your phone, I really need you to come get me._

Quinn bit her lip, a dread washing over thinking if Rachel was not at home.

She called Rachel, multiple times, but the line would disconnect immediately without ringing.

"Fuck," Quinn muttered, racing out of the kitchen to grab her coat and keys.

Just as she was putting on her shoes, the doorbell rang. Quinn looked through the peephole, wondering who it could be at this hour. She saw policemen and flashing lights. Her hand trembled as she opened the door.

"Can I help you?" She rasped.

The two men in uniform peered at her and then past her.

"Is Noah Puckerman home? We are looking to speak with him regarding Rachel Berry. We asked a few neighbors who said that Rachel Berry would've most likely been here as they heard a party going on."

Quinn's heart starting racing.

"Where's Rachel? Is she with you?" Quinn asked, tears already springing to her eyes but she wasn't sure why.

Rachel was fine.

The police looked at each other and then opened their mouth right when she heard some shuffling behind her.

"What's going on, baby mama?" She looked behind her to see Puck with Kurt behind him, both bleary-eyed as Puck rubbed the back of his head.

"Noah Puckerman?" One of the policemen asked. Puck saw the lights and the uniform and instantly became more awake.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"We'd like to ask a few questions about Rachel Berry. We did stop by her home, but no one was there."

Puck opened the door wide so all three of them could step out instead of having the police enter with all the drunk pass outs and solo cups.

"What's wrong with, Rachel?" Kurt asked, shivering as the cold wind hit them.

"Did you see Rachel Berry here tonight?"

"Yes, I came here with her. I left her to her own after we arrived though. I haven't seen her since." Kurt replied softly.

Puck shrugged. "I saw her in passing but I didn't really have a chance to talk to her."

Quinn's eyes were red as she looked at the flashing car.

"I…saw her. She wanted to leave but I didn't give her a ride. She left right after. Where's Rachel?"

The policemen sighed, one of them even taking off his cap.

"Rachel Berry was found dead in the woods. She had a sprained ankle and no jacket. She froze to death."

Quinn's heart stopped.

* * *

Puck woke everyone up and forced everyone but the Glee members to leave his house. His jaw was clenched the entire time as they all sat in the kitchen.

Finn was wide-eyed, in shock as if he wasn't sure what he heard.

Brittany was openly sobbing with Santana who was holding her fiancé, eyes red. Other members sat, unsure what they were feeling, a mix of shock and wanting to cry out.

The policemen walked around and glanced at everyone in the room.

"Does anyone know how to get in contact with Rachel's parents or where they are?"

"They're in Jamaica, their phones are off," Quinn hoarsely replied.

"Do you guys know any way for us to contact them?"

Everyone looked at Finn, who looked like he hadn't heard a thing. Quinn wanted to murder him.

"Contact…Contact Shelby Corcoran. She's Rachel's birth mom, she'll know how to contact Rachel's dads." Quinn firmly said.

The policemen nodded and one left while the other stayed behind.

"Listen kids, we're still looking into what happened. Was she your friend?"

Everyone nodded.

"She's in Glee with us, our captain. She's our star. She could be annoying sometimes, but she could sing better than anyone." Santana started, her voice rough.

The policeman nodded.

"Do you know why she might've left without a coat?"

Kurt was the one to shake his head. "No, she came with a coat. I looked everywhere. Her coat isn't here." He put his head into his hands, Blaine rubbing his back comfortingly.

The policeman didn't say anything, but Quinn felt her stomach drop. Rachel was walking home. She was walking home because she couldn't find a ride. She made Rachel walk.

"Did Rachel have any problems?"

The room shifted.

Mercedes hesitated as she answered, "Rachel wasn't…popular. Jocks and Cheerios make fun of her, but I don't think anyone would hurt her like _that_."

The police nodded, jotting down notes when Finn looked up.

"I want to see Rachel." He stated, looking around as if he was trying to find the small girl.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to say. The tall boy got up from his seat and began to walk around, looking in different rooms.

"Where's Rachel?" He kept asking over and over. When no one knew what to do and when it became more obvious Rachel wasn't going to be found, Finn began to get more upset.

"Rachel!" He yelled, kicking at his chair. Blaine and Kurt restrained Finn, telling him to calm down.

Finn fell to his knees. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

More tears fell out of Quinn's eyes.

She's sorry. She's so sorry too.

* * *

The questioning was over and parents were called to pick up some of the kids. While waiting, everyone found out that Rachel called and texted multiple people: Finn, Kurt, Quinn, and Puck. Everyone else discovered quickly they weren't called because they didn't have Rachel's number so she didn't have theirs.

Quinn drove Santana and Brittany in her car. No one wanted to be alone for tonight, so they were going to stay the rest of the night with Quinn. She could still hear Brittany crying quietly in the back, Santana holding her girlfriend, looking more pissed than anything.

"San," Brittany whimpered.

"Yeah, baby?" The Latina replied, her voice soft.

"Why don't I have Rachel's number? Why didn't I give Rachel my number?"

Santana shut her eyes tightly, probably thinking the same thing. No one could even come close to how Quinn felt. Quinn, who did receive multiple calls from Rachel and didn't pick up. Purposely.

Everyone else had just not noticed their phone ringing, too wrapped up in the party. Quinn parked the car and found the lights in her house open. They walked through the door and her mother was standing there, a mild shock on her face when she gotten the call from Quinn earlier that she was coming home and something bad happened.

Santana and Brittany greeted Judy quietly before making their way upstairs to Quinn's room.

Quinn stood in the living room with her mother, who was analyzing how her daughter's face was tear-stained and puffy-eyed.

"Quinnie, sweetheart, what happened?" Her mother asked carefully.

Just the question alone brought more tears to Quinn as she jumped into her mother's arm, sobbing quietly.

"Mom…Rachel…" She tried to say between her breaths.

She felt soothing hands rub her back gently, her mother holding her tight. This was the closest they've been since…everything.

"Rachel's _gone_!"

Her mother tensed up, hearing the news and the context of it. She held Quinn tighter as the blonde mumbled out apologizes.

"Qh Quinn, don't say sorry, it's not your fault. It'll be okay."

Quinn wanted to scream how was it going to be okay? Rachel was gone.

She's gone.

* * *

The weekend passed by, Quinn wanted to drive by Rachel's home many times, but she couldn't bring herself to do it on the chance she would run into Rachel's fathers.

What if she broke down again? What would she even say?

So she waited for Monday instead. Her mother had told her she could stay home, but Quinn declined saying it would drive her mad to be home alone. Parking her car, she walked in solemnly. It was obvious news had spread out quickly about Rachel in their small little town. She saw Santana and Brittany hanging around Rachel's locker, the Latina glaring furiously at anyone who looked her way.

She stopped in front of them, her chest already in pain from looking at Brittany's face.

"People were trying to remove the gold star stickers on Rachel's locker," the tall blonde girl voiced quietly.

Quinn shut her eyes, her heart ramming with anger and she wanted to know exactly who would do that so she could rip their hair out.

She let out a breath as Santana muttered, "Well, they'll have their fingers broken first if they want to do that."

The first bell rang and Quinn half-smiled at the two girls sadly as they all reluctantly made their way to first period.

* * *

Lunch was quiet. All the Glee members sat together, it was Quinn's first time seeing Tina since the girl wasn't at the party. She was holding her tears at bay while Mike had his arm around her shoulder. Matt sat beside Mike, quietly picking at his food.

Finn came and sat down with his tray, he picked at the vegetables and Quinn knew that Rachel used to always steal his vegetables because he never ate them.

Santana and Brittany had gotten lunch but neither touched it. The tall blonde silently laying her head on the brunette's shoulder, and Santana was glaring at anyone who wasn't in Glee if they came too close to the table. She had already witnessed the fierce brunette bite the head off of multiple Cheerios for approaching the table, some trying to sit down and some to inquire why the three of them were not sitting at the Cheerio's table.

Artie was holding a ukulele and Quinn found out that Rachel had finally pestered Artie enough that he agreed to do a duet together. They were supposed to practice today.

Puck sat next to Finn, his hands shoved into his sweater roughly as he stared at the jock's table.

Kurt…Kurt had tears leaking down his eyes as Blaine looked the most stressed he's ever been.

And Quinn, she kept looking at where Rachel was supposed to be sitting. Her expression cycling through grief and longing the longer she looked.

She was broken out of the cycle when Sam marched over and sat down next to Quinn, muttering how he hated English. It was then Quinn remembered that Rachel shared that class with Sam and frequently helped him because he was dyslexic.

When the bell rang, they all looked at each other, letting out a sigh before getting up and leaving to their respective classes

Fourth period was hell for Quinn. This was chemistry that she shared with Rachel. The star used to alternate between sitting with Brittany or sitting with Quinn depending on what mood Quinn was in.

She watched Brittany shuffle in, quietly sitting next to her.

Her friend looked to her, voice uncertain, "Rachel's not here." Brittany's eyes flitted behind her to look at where Rachel sometimes sat.

Quinn pursed her lips, her hand gently patted Brittany's hand. "Yeah, she'd want us to sit together."

Brittany nodded as the teacher walked in, going over roll call and mistakenly called out Rachel's name. He caught Quinn's incensed gaze and coughed awkwardly and moved on.

When the time came for worksheet practice, Quinn noticed Brittany looking behind her from time to time. When she felt a delicate tap on her pinky, she looked at the sullen girl.

"Can you help me…Rachel always went over the questions with me." Brittany asked gloomily.

"Yeah, B, 'course I'll help."

* * *

Glee was usually on Wednesdays after school, but Mr. Shue let everyone know to meet him in the choir room after school.

It was quiet.

"I know this a hard time…for all of us. I've asked Miss Pillsbury to come today so we can talk about it. Everyone deals with loss differently, but it does help to talk about it."

When no one responded, Will looked helplessly at the redhead. Miss Pillsbury stepped forward with her hands together in front of her. "I know this is difficult and quite frankly, excuse me, sucks. Sometimes we may not even be able to talk about why it happened or how we're feeling about it currently. Perhaps there would be something Rachel would love for us to do?"

Kurt chuckled, all gazes turning towards him. He looked forward, his eyes slightly puffy from the tears earlier. "I bet she'd love it if we sang."

Everyone chuckled, agreeing with him. Artie was the first to volunteer with his ukulele.

"I was…we were going to sing together on Wednesday. If it'd be okay, I'm going to carry it out for her. This is Officially Missing You by Tamia."

The rest of them took turns singing in solos or duets of songs they thought Rachel might've liked. There was just Quinn and Finn left at the end, Kurt nudged Finn and everyone looked over at them.

"Finn, you were dating her, you should sing her favorite song. The rest of us just guessed songs Rachel would've enjoyed."

Finn pursed his lips and looked in front of him, silent. Everyone gave the boy a moment, but then too long passed and he didn't seem like he was going to open his mouth.

"Oh my god, Finnept, are you telling us you don't know her favorite song?!" Santana grit out.

Finn almost seemed to shrink into himself, his expression becoming defensive as he looked at everyone.

"We…we never spoke about it. We sing along a lot to the radio in the car, but she just likes…so much music. Maybe it's the 'Don't Rain On My Parade'?"

Soon enough, everyone in the room was bickering about what the star's favorite song was and some berating Finn for not knowing what the song was in the first place and Quinn just has had it.

"Stop!" She yelled over the bickering. The room quiet down and looked over at Quinn. The blonde sat uncomfortably, half-angry with Finn for not knowing that Rachel doesn't have a favorite song and that she picks a new one every month, and half-unprepared to open her mouth and sing.

There was one song that Rachel thought was special, it wasn't particularly something she thought was amazing, but it was special to the brunette.

Quinn sighed forcefully through her mouth, the tears welling up as she began to softly sing.

 _"Hold me close and hold me fast_

 _The magic spell you cast_

 _This is La Vie En Rose…"_

* * *

A couple of days had passed and Quinn thought that time would make it easier to deal with the fact that Rachel was no longer here.

But it just felt like it was getting worse. She was going through the grief stages. She was initially a little in denial the first week, thinking that she would somehow see Rachel walk through the school doors any time now, or see the girl at her locker, but every time that didn't happen, Quinn felt like she was being punched in the gut. She wasn't sure what she was feeling now.

She smoothed out her black dress and adjusted the pin her hair.

The funeral was today.

Rachel had gotten her a pearl-studded pin for her birthday and she had treasured the pin but was too cowardly to ever have worn it.

But she was determined to look her best today.

She and her mother drove in silence on the way there, only the soft radio playing in the background. Judy had been unsure how to console Quinn in regards to this, and Quinn had overheard her mother calling Frannie to give her sister a call during this hard time last week, but she has yet to hear from her sister.

Her father didn't call at all, and she didn't want him to, not that she expected it anyways.

By the time Quinn arrived, she found that most of the Glee members had already arrived.

She stood awkwardly at the back as the service hadn't started yet before Puck, Santana, Brittany, Kurt, and Blaine joined her.

She found that Puck had for once actually worn a suit, though he was pulling at his tie uncomfortably. Looking over, she found Puck's mother and sister sitting, the older woman openly crying as Puck's sister was pressed into her mother's side, tears in her eyes.

She saw at the front Rachel's parents along with some older people. Hiram had looked over and saw them, a fit of anger flashing through his eyes that made Quinn's breath hitch.

Leroy had caught what Hiram was staring at and pursed his lips. He leaned over and whispered something to his husband, the anger dissipated from Hiram's face as he sighed tiredly, rubbing his face before stepping away and walking off.

After that, Leroy and two old women turned towards the young kids, stepping out to walk to them with Leroy leading the way.

"That's Rachel's bubbe with the short hair and grandmother in the red suit." Puck whispered to the group. Quinn briefly wondered how Puck would know before remembering that they both were in the same Jewish community.

Rachel's bubbe came up to them first in front of Puck, grabbing his cheeks and pulling him down.

"Oh Noah, you've grown so much, what's with that atrocious hairdo?" Her old voice was had a slightly weary tone but Quinn thought she sounded sweet.

Puck smiled sheepishly and held the old woman's hand to stop her from pulling at his cheeks. "It's what's in, bubbe Anne."

Anne has simply patted his cheek before stepping off. She looked at the rest of them and gave them a kind smile.

"I'm Anne, this over here is Rachel's other grandmother, Isabelle. You're the Glee kids, aren't you? Rachel talked all the time about you kids. Let's see, this must be Santana and Brittany…Kurt, Blaine, and you must be Quinn. My, my you are simply more gorgeous than Rachel described."

Quinn tilted her head in a curious motion, her cheeks slightly heating about how Rachel talked about her to her grandma.

"She talked about us?"

Anne chuckled, eyes closed before opening again. "Oh, of course, dear. Glee was everything to my little star. She loved everyone she spent time with, she can be a little busybody though, can't she?"

Santana couldn't even help her snort, though she did manage to look sheepish after. Anne shook her head, not minding though.

"It alright, Rachel knew exactly what kind of gal she was. She simply can't help it, wearing her heart on her sleeve like that. She's never known any other way." Anne seems to reminisce on her own before snapping out of it. "Why don't you kids come sit in the second row here, Rachel would've loved that."

Everyone began to follow Isabelle and Quinn caught a quick look at Leroy that he wanted to speak to her after and she nodded. Just as she was about to walk herself, Anne stopped her again.

"Rachel spoke of you all the time, Quinn. I'm glad I can finally meet you, though I wish under better circumstances."

Quinn blinked slowly, her voice uncertain as she replied. "What did Rachel say about me?"

Anne gave a lopsided smile as if she wasn't sure what to reveal. "Rachel often said the same things; 'Bubbe, Quinn is the prettiest girl I know, but I just know she's always going to be more than that.'"

Anne walked off and the blonde was confused to how this old woman could leave so easily after dropping a bomb on Quinn. It was like a swift force hit Quinn in the chest. She felt her knees wobble hearing the words and her vision immediately blurred over.

Her hand went immediately went to forehead as she tried to steady herself. She let out a shaky breath and licked her lips softly.

How was she supposed to be okay after hearing that?

* * *

The funeral service helped Quinn, especially listening to some of the stories Rachel's family shared. The hardest part may have been listening to Hiram speak; he had nearly broken down in the middle of it.

Nearly everyone had gone up and tossed in lilies, Rachel's favorite flower, into the ground and onto the casket. Everyone began to slowly leave the service, leaving Quinn and Leroy the only ones behind.

They stood side by side in silence. Quinn thought that she was all cried out, that there were no more tears she could offer to the diva, but watching as they lowered Rachel into the ground was enough to open the dam again.

"Do you regret it?"

Quinn snapped over and looked at Leroy who only stared at the tombstone.

"The police told me that you had told them you were supposed to give her a ride home."

She slowly turned her head back. The tone didn't sound accusatory, but even if it did, she deserved it.

"I thought I regretted a lot of things," Quinn started, "Getting drunk and having sex with Puck…getting pregnant at 16…getting kicked out of my home…losing captaincy with the Cheerios…I thought I cared about those things so much, about getting the approval of my family and my peers."

Quinn let out a shaky breath, "I never knew regret until now that I can no longer see Rachel."

More tears fell down Quinn's cheeks silently, a warm hand placing itself on her shoulder made her look at Leroy.

The man looked entirely worn down as if time rapidly passed by and he was unprepared for it.

"Sometimes we always think we have more time to get the things we want," he said cryptically. The underlying tone made Quinn believe that he might've known how she felt about Rachel, but before she could question it, he spoke again.

"I just want you to know that I don't blame you, Quinn. I know my husband may look like he does, but he's just overwhelmed and saddened by this, give him time. Yes, you should have given her the ride, and yes Rachel shouldn't have left if she was drunk and had no ride. But no matter what, I know my baby girl would never walk out there alone with no coat, so we're going to find whoever did this to her because I won't accept any other answer, okay?"

Quinn wasn't sure whether she felt relief or if she hated herself more that this man could look at her and tell her he didn't blame her for his only daughter's death.

She closed her eyes, feeling closer to the diva than she had in weeks.

What she wouldn't do for a second chance though.

* * *

"Hey, is everyone here?" Quinn closed the gate to the backyard, her eyes traveling to the large bonfire in the middle with Glee members surrounding it and sitting in their chairs.

Puck had invited everyone to come over later in the evening after the funeral service and everyone agreed, though they looked exhausted now sitting around the fire.

"Yeah, I think Matt's just on his way. He'll be here soon." Puck replied. He was sitting in a lawn chair with a beer, quietly drinking next to Finn.

Quinn took a seat next to Santana who was sharing her seat with Brittany. They had a blanket wrapped around them as they basked in the warmth of the fire. Looking over, there were some roasting sticks and marshmallows next to it. Taking one, Quinn pierced the sugary treat and stuck it against the fire.

Once everyone was pretty much settled in, they all relaxed, listening to the radio play quietly in the background. There were no words spoken, no one knew what to say other than it was an emotionally draining day.

"I think," Kurt started, "I think I'm ready to talk about how I feel."

The boy softly licked his lips as Blaine had his arms wrapped around Kurt's shoulder.

Closing his eyes, Kurt clenched his jaw. "I was so annoyed with her before we got to the party. I came over to help her choose what to wear and she kept bickering with me on nearly every choice. It reminded me of the time when I first gave me a makeover and then I felt like shit, like maybe she doesn't trust me."

Kurt had tears in his eyes as he started to talk. "I pretty much ignored her after we arrived. I wish…I just wish I picked up my phone or saw her text. I wish I could tell her that she can wear all the argyle she wants if she just comes back."

Kurt didn't have anything else to say and he leaned back as Blaine comforted him and shared his scarf.

It was quiet again until Puck spoke up. "My sister keeps crying. She loved Rachel and I don't know how to comfort my own little sister. I used to always just beat up whoever made her cry, but I can't this time."

Puck looked straight ahead into the fire as he spoke, the beer in his hand half-gone already. "Rachel used to stop by and help Gina practice for her solo in her show choir at school. She used to take out Gina to eat and shop when my mom was too busy. Rachel didn't have to, you know, since I used to slushy and make fun of her."

Puck stopped talking, his eyes were closed and he pinched the space between his brows. He didn't have to say anything, everyone could tell how pissed he was that he didn't pick up his phone either.

A moment passed and Puck started chuckling. "One time, she had caught me stealing some liquor from the store and you know what she did? She made me march back into the store and return it while she distracted the cashier. After that, she gave me a 20-minute lecture about 'how stealing is very detrimental to my future and that not stealing would be lucrative to getting to college because she highly doubts that a criminal record will help me.'"

Everyone began to lightly laugh at the story because that sounded so much like Rachel.

Tina was the next to share something. "Man, do you guys remember when she sent Sunshine to that crackhouse? She was so cutthroat."

Everyone laughed again, not so much about the crackhouse incident but just know how Rachel was.

"I saw her two weeks later with 'Apology Cookies' and sincerely, though begrudgingly, tell Sunshine she was sorry and just threatened by how good the girl was."

Brittany sat up straighter in her seat, ready to share next.

"You know, after a month since the semester started, there was this kid in our swim team that's also in our Chemistry class. I was walking with Rachel and he called me…you know…"

Everyone knew exactly what that kid called Brittany and Santana immediately flared, ready to demand who this kid was so she could make sure he could never reproduce again. Brittany gave her a lopsided smile and patted the other girl to calm her down.

"It's okay, San. Just listen," she said quietly to the Latina before looking back at everyone.

"Rachel looked shocked but we didn't have the chance to say anything since the bell rang. During our Chem Lab, she set his pants on fire! She then immediately raised her hand and told the teacher he was being irresponsible and playing around, which got him detention after they were able to put the fire out. He had some burn marks that stopped him from being able to compete in his swim meet."

Everyone was wildly laughing at this point; even San had a satisfied grin.

Quinn remembered that day, it's not as though you easily forget someone's pants being on fire. But Rachel was also supposed to be her Chem lab partner that day. When Rachel had told her she was going to partner up with someone else, Quinn had given her a harsh response and not talked to her for 2 days after.

"Is that why she went and partnered with that guy?" Quinn asked Brittany and the girl nodded.

"Yeah. After class, we walked past him and he looked so scared."

Santana cackled, "how'd the hobbit even do that?"

Brittany shrugged, "Rachel has an A+ in Chemistry."

Quinn let out a small smile, too late to feel guilty but that didn't stop her.

Somehow, the rest of the night turned into sharing stories about Rachel instead, in a way, it helped them instead of just talking about what happened and how they felt about it.

It was getting late in the night, but everyone was still sharing stories and eating hot dogs.

Nearly everyone had shared many stories about Rachel, except Quinn. She wasn't sure what she could share. While she was there for many of the other stories people shared about the diva, she couldn't say that she had funny moments with the girl.

She certainly wasn't going to share about the days when she would let Rachel sit with her in the bleacher early in the morning, how the girl would chat away about everything and anything while Quinn stared at the back of her head, thinking that she was very much in love with her.

She wasn't going to share how Rachel had been there for every tough moment in her life or convinced her to not do something stupid and ruin everything she had and could have.

She wasn't going to share about the times she's caught Rachel sleeping in the auditorium at the piano, out-practising herself, and how it took a lot of willpower to not gently press her lips to the brunette during those times.

She will definitely not share how much it means to her that Rachel thought she was the prettiest girl she's ever met, but also thought Quinn was more than that.

All these moments of Rachel belonged to Quinn, and she would never give them up.

"What about you, Quinn? I see your dumbass crying a lot, so spill something about the hobbit." Santana drawled as she looked at her friend.

Quinn merely shrugged, sticking to her decision to not share. The action seemed to tick Finn off, though.

"Seriously, Quinn? All these years Rachel tried so hard to be your friend, and you have nothing to say? Nothing to say even though you're one of the people she tried to call? You're so damn selfish!" Finn had his brows furrowed in a disappointing manner and then he rolled his eyes.

The statement incensed Quinn immediately. She was the one who was selfish? Fuck that.

"Fuck you, Finn. If anyone is selfish, take a goddamn look at yourself!" The blonde scowled.

Confusion settled over Finn as he sat up straighter in his seat.

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Did I stutter? If I'm selfish, you're just as selfish as me, if not more."

The confused expression stayed on Finn's face causing Quinn to roll her eyes exasperatedly.

"For someone who claims to love Rachel, you sure know the fastest way to destroy her. You were going to _ruin_ her whole life! You have no plans or ambitions and you were only scared about ending up alone while Rachel went on to the big city to become the star we all know she was going to be. Your selfishness, temperament, and lack of ambition would've _torn_ Rachel apart." Quinn was getting more heated up the further this ripped into Finn. It was like all those feelings from _that_ night came up to surface again.

Finn immediately stood up, knocking his chair over and he was red in the face. "What the hell, Quinn! What are you even talking about?! I loved Rachel!"

Quinn stood up from her seat in response and dropped her roasting stick as she screamed the thing that bothered Quinn ever since that night.

"I'm talking about how you fucking proposed to Rachel! I'm talking about your goddamn inconsiderate proposal you only asked out of fear of being alone and a nobody!"

Everyone let out a surprised gasp as they watched the scene unfold.

Quinn's eyes watered as she remembered what she had witnessed that caused her own selfishness to make Rachel walk home alone that night.

"I'm talking about how you and Rachel were going to get _married_." Quinn's chest was heaving as she spat out the last bit disdainfully.

Finn's jaw was clenched, his fist at his side as he trembled with anger. For a second, Quinn thought that this would finally be when Finn would lose it and punch her but to her surprise after a moment, Finn relaxed and let out a breath.

"She said no."

Quinn paused. Finn has said it so calmly she wasn't even sure she heard him correctly.

"Excuse me?" She replied so quietly, the stillness chilling her bones as Finn repeated himself.

"She said no."

Relief and horror flooded Quinn all at once and her knees buckled before Santana caught her.

She said no?

Rachel said no?

God…then that means…fuck.

Quinn stood up straighter, her palm pressed against her forehead as she ran her hand through her hair. She shook Santana's concerned hold off of her before shaking her head.

"I…I have to go." Quinn stuttered out before running out of the backyard.

She didn't even look back as she got into her car and drove off. Quinn didn't drive very far before she pulled to the side and turned off her car.

Her eyes welled up before flowing freely down her cheeks.

This was all her fault.

She should've stayed and listen, no, she should've just asked Rachel. Why did she always get irrationally angry when it came to Diva?

Quinn let out a broken sob.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel…I'm so sorry."

If she had a second chance, she'd never let Rachel go.

* * *

When Monday morning came, Quinn felt like a zombie risen from the dead. She hardly got any sleep as she tossed and turned thinking about Rachel.

She wasn't even sure how 3 weeks had passed without her actively participating in, well, life.

She had heard that Rachel's case was about to be closed soon since they virtually had no leads. The police had come by multiple times to question certain students, but nothing really came of it.

Quinn wasn't sure if she could accept Rachel's case ending in that it was a drunken mistake for the diva to be out there and died.

The bell rang, but Quinn wasn't sure if she was going to go to class today. She was tired. She was tired and there would be no Rachel to find her to make her go to class anyways.

So she went to the auditorium and went to the middle row.

A nap sounded nice.

If she were lucky, maybe she'd get to see Rachel there.

* * *

Puck hated Mondays.

For some reason, his mind had put Mondays at the start of the week and the week always felt long lately. The only bright side was that he had gym first on Mondays, which helped him wake up.

Heading into the change room, he bumped into Sam.

"Hey man," Sam greeted casually. Puck nodded his head back to the blonde.

"Oh right, Coach wanted me to tell you to there's a meeting today at lunch. She's been going real nuts lately."

Puck rolled his eyes but nodded again at Sam to let the guy know he would be there.

Coach Beiste still had the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors training, though the season ended. She was definitely determined they win at some point.

The morning half had passed by quickly for Puck, it seemed all the teachers were starting to get the students to think about what to do or where to apply for after high school, which made Puck think about for himself reluctantly.

Going to the meeting Coach set out, not much happened other than Coach Beiste talking about how proud she was for their efforts in the season and that if anyone is looking to go to the local community college in Lima, she could put a word in with the coach there if they wanted to play.

The room started to file out and Puck was the last to shuffle out. As he was passing the locker room, he heard talking in there. Well…harsh whispering is more what Puck would describe it. He opened the door just slightly ajar.

He couldn't see anyone, but it was clear there were two people in there.

"Hey man, did you…did you get rid of it?"

"Of course I did, you dickhead! The fucking cops actually showed up at my house to question me. I think one of the Cheerios fucking said something."

Puck furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to listen closer.

"Fuck, really? That's fucking stupid, they were there too!"

"I know, luckily I didn't have the jacket in the house. As soon as the cops left, I burned the jacket so there wouldn't be anything left."

"Shit man, are you sure about this? I mean we…we ki—"

"Don't fucking even man! It…It wasn't our fault."

"What do you mean _our_? You fucking pushed her!"

"Fuck you, man! I didn't see you get out the car to help Man-Hands!"

Puck pushed the door slightly more open and saw Bobby before the door creaked. The talking stopped.

"Who's there!"

Puck quickly left the area, though not before swearing to himself that this wasn't over.

After the final bell of the day rang, Puck casually hung around the hallways as it started to clear out. When he saw Bobby turn the corner to the hallway he was on, he immediately grabbed the football player into the nearest washroom and roughly shoved him against the wall.

"What the fuck, Puck!" Bobby shouted as the back of his head hit the wall.

Puck got into his teammate's face.

"Bobby, if you don't tell me who the other person was in the locker room that KILLED Rachel, you might want to tell your family to plan your funeral too."

A scared look immediately entered Bobby's face.

"I-I don't kno—"

Puck gripped the collars of Bobby's letterman tighter and shoved him against the wall harshly again.

"Don't play dumb, Bobby. I heard you and someone else in the locker room. I swear Bobby if you don't tell me who it was, I will break every bone in your body and then you'll _really_ have no future in football."

Bobby must've seen something in Puck's eyes, or just knew the guy had no issues at all carrying out his threat that he broke.

"It was Azimio! We-We saw Rachel walking home that night alone and we and some Cheerios started to just play around! It just got out of hand and Azimio took her jacket and pushed her down the hill! It was just a prank, we didn't know she would _die_!"

Puck's face scrunched up in pure rage as he let go of the football player and threw a punch just inches from Bobby's face, leaving a dent in the wall.

Backing up, Puck left the washroom, swinging the door with so much rage; it hit the wall and left a small hole.

"Don't you fucking dare think this is over, Bobby!" Puck yelled as he broke into a run.

* * *

Quinn was walking through the parking lot when she bumped into the Glee members.

They were making small talk when they all witnessed Puck sprinted passed them. They all watched in horror as Puck shot towards an unsuspecting Azimio and tackle the guy to the ground.

Immediately, they all ran forward to see what was happening. Puck was just beating the shit out of Azimio, a broken nose and blood spewing out of the guy.

"Oh my god, Puck! Get off of him!" Quinn screamed as she watched Azimio's friend try to grab Puck and restrain him. Puck was struggling in their grips as some of the other friends tried to help Azimio up.

"What the hell, Puck! What's your fucking problem?!" Azimio screamed, pressing his hand to his face to stop the bleeding from his split brow.

"Fuck you, you piece of shit! You think it's okay to go around murdering people and think you're gonna get away with it?! Over my dead body!"

Multiple gasps were heard throughout the parking lot, a crowd was already forming around them. The guys who held Puck let go, and Puck shook his arms out and his sweater back on straight. Azimio looked shocked.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Azimio shouted back.

Puck got into Azimio's face again, grabbing the boy's collar.

"Don't even try to deny it, Azimio. Bobby's already confessed. I already heard you and Bobby in the locker room talking about it. The second I find out which Cheerios also did this to Rachel, I'm sure they'll be fast to admit you were the one to push her."

As soon as those words left Puck's mouth, Santana's mouth dropped and then swore.

" _¿Hablas en serio_?!" She yelled as she turned around and left, no doubt to find the Cheerios. Brittany immediately went to follow her.

Quinn stood there struck. There it was, the people who made Rachel disappear forever. There was nothing more at that moment than wanting to march over and start choking the life out of Azimio, but her limbs wouldn't budge.

She was grateful that Puck had already beaten the shit out of Azimio.

Before Azimio could say anything else, Mr. Shue and Sylvester marched through and broke up crowd up. Mr. Shue went over and pulled Puck away from Azimio again.

"What on earth is going on here?!" Mr. Shue yelled angrily as he looked around.

Azimio took the chance and pointed at Puck.

"I want this guy arrested for assaulting me!"

The disbelief on everyone's face as they heard the beat up student.

"You _MURDERED_ Rachel!" Puck screamed back, shocking both Mr. Shue and Sylvester.

The two teachers looked at each other before looking back.

"Call the police," Mr. Shue said, looking at Quinn.

Azimio looked like he wanted to run for it before Sylvester locked eyes with him.

"Don't even think about it, meathead. This body is built like a cheetah and I _will_ tackle you down."

The look of resignation entered Azimio's face, as he slouched. He looked around and none of his friends even stood near him, many looking at him in disgust.

Soon enough, the sirens were heard and the police arrived. Azimio was immediately handcuffed and put into the backseat of the cruiser. Right after, the police also came out with Bobby and two Cheerios apprehended.

It was over.

But Quinn felt no relief.

* * *

When Quinn went home that day, she was exhausted. She had called her mother to inform her of the news and that she'd be a little late to provide a statement.

Going straight to her bedroom once she arrived home, she told her mother she wasn't hungry for dinner.

As she lay there in her bed on her back, contemplating what to do next, she realized there was nothing left.

There was nothing left of Rachel, nothing left to do for her, no killer to track down.

She had only been able to focus as much as she did when there was a task at hand.

Clean the girl's locker out, decide what to do with the things, go through Rachel's notebooks and find silly drawings and notes, find clues for who did this to Rachel.

There was nothing left.

Before she could agonize any further, a knock was heard at her door.

"Come in," Quinn replied softly with her eyes closed, thinking it was her mother who was bringing food.

The door opened and shut softly.

"Hey," the sound of the hesitating voice made Quinn snap her eyes open and sit up. She looked at the person, eyeing them in surprise.

"Frannie…what are you doing here?"

Her older sister shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Mom called me a while ago…she told me what happened and you were having a difficult time. I came to see you."

Quinn scoffed at that.

"What? No phone call or text in the 4 years since you left, not even a peep when I was pregnant and _homeless_ , but now that I'm a mourning teenager, you want to talk to me again?"

Frannie pursed her lips at that before sighing. She walked over and sat in the chair next to Quinn's bed.

"I can't change the way things were, Quinn. I'm sorry. Our whole dynamic was very strained when dad was here."

Quinn grit her teeth at the mention of the man.

"I _looked_ up to you." Quinn snapped.

"I'm _nothing_ to look up about!" Frannie snapped back, immediately regretting her tone and tried to relax again.

"I know that dad always made me seem like the perfect child, and I tried, but Quinn, this is not how I want my life to be. I'm trying to start over."

Quinn directed a confused face at her older sister, clearly not understanding what Frannie was saying.

Frannie closed her eyes and Quinn could see how weary her sister looked.

"I'm getting a divorce, Quinn. I've lost everything. I have no money, no higher education, no job, and no home. I'm moving back here."

Shock registered in Quinn as she heard Frannie tell her. There were no tears in her eyes, but Quinn suspected she cried enough on her own.

"Why…" Quinn asked. Frannie was the perfect child, everything her father wanted in a daughter. She was popular, well-bred, smart, and got married to a successful businessman her father introduced her to right after high school. She adopted the perfect housewife image that her father wanted in Quinn too.

"Because that son of a bitch is cheating on me and has a gambling problem. Every cent I owned had gone to his mistress and the house was about to be taken by the bank."

Quinn closed her eyes at this, her heart wrenching for her sister, but mostly because that could've been her future too. Because she was too scared to get what she really wanted, maybe she was still scared.

"Were you close to this girl?" Frannie finally asked.

Quinn's eyes were brimmed with redness as she looked at her sister.

"She was everything to me…and now she'll never know." Quinn croaked, confessing to her sister in a way that couldn't be misunderstood.

The blonde waited with bated breath for her sister's reaction, but Frannie had stayed quiet before putting her hand on Quinn's shoulder.

"Quinn, I don't want you to end up like me. I know it's too late for you to tell this girl what you felt, but listen to me. Do you know what it means to be a Fabray?"

Quinn chuckled humourlessly. Her father had told her many times what it meant to be a Fabray.

"It means to be perfect, to never make mistakes, a Fabray is a winner."

Frannie shook her head.

"No, Quinn, that what that asshole says what it means to be a Fabray. We need to decide what it means to us. Fabrays _are_ winners, but we make mistakes and sometimes we lose, but we also never give up. Fabrays get what _we_ want, not what he wants. So stop being afraid of going after what you want, you're the one who has to live your life. So, if you keep trying to live the life he wants, what you think everyone wants of you, don't call yourself a Fabray."

Quinn cried silently with her eyes closed as Frannie held her. She was so grateful to hear these things from her older sister, in a way it was freeing.

But how could she get what she wants when Rachel was no longer here.

How does she ask her sister how to get a second chance?

That night after Frannie had left to the guest room her mother had set up, Quinn did something she hardly did anymore. She knelt at her bedside with her hands together and prayed to God.

Prayed that Rachel was happy where she was, prayed for forgiveness though she wasn't sure if she deserved it, and prayed that in the next lifetime (on the off chance she'd get more than one), she'd get a second chance with Rachel.

When she finished, she went to bed, sighing as she thought about Rachel almost obsessively as if she could will herself to dream about the diva.

That's where second chances existed to Quinn.

* * *

 **Next Time: Rachel on the flip side.**

 **A/N: Well, there ya have it, chapter 2! So glad many of you were also saying you wanted to see how the Glee members would react to Rachel's death. Where's the joy if we don't see a little guilt, amirite? Also thanks to the people who corrected grammar/typos...if you are interested in betaing me...you know who you are LOL!**

 **Also thank you to all the reviewers! I wasn't sure what the turnout would be since it's been a long time since Glee ended, but I'm glad there's still shippers out there.**

 **So, leave a review and tell me how far back you think Rachel will be sent and why(or how far back you want her to be sent, I'm still deciding).**

 **See you soon xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - The Lamb is No Longer Gentle**

The blaring alarm woke up Rachel with a gasp as she shot up from the bed. She scrambled to turn off her alarm to stop the offending noise.

6am.

Rachel was heaving as if she were out of breath, but she had only just woken up. Running her hand through her disheveled hair, she wondered what the hell was going on.

How did she get back into her bed? Did someone actually find her and was able to send her home? How long was she out for? She looked down at her hands and frowned.

She had done french tips last, why was there no nail polish? Did they remove it when they found her in the snow?

As she got out of bed, she thought her body would feel a lot weaker, but she felt normal. Opening the door, she heard the sound of someone cooking downstairs. Her eyebrows furrowed as she went to investigate.

Peaking her head in the kitchen, she found her daddy, Leroy, in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Daddy?" Rachel called out uncertainly. The man turned his head over in surprise before smiling at her.

"Hey, baby girl, you're up?" He asked before looking at the time.

"You're a little behind schedule. Did you press the snooze button?" He joked.

Confusion swept over her as she looked at her dad. She stood fully in the kitchen as she looked around for her dad.

"Why are you back? Is dad back too? Did you come home early because of me?" Rachel asked, turning her head back to her daddy when she couldn't find Hiram.

Leroy stared at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly having no idea what his daughter was talking about.

"What do you mean, sweetheart? I haven't gone anywhere unless you're talking about coming home from work, but you know that since we saw each other last night before bedtime."

Rachel frowned.

"What? No, you were in Jamaica with dad, I couldn't reach you at all."

Leroy continued to stare at his daughter a goofy smile on his face.

"Not sure what you're talking about sweetheart, must've been some dream you had there. We definitely weren't in Jamaica though, trust me, I would _so_ know if I was. Anyways, you should hurry along your routine so you can have breakfast. You don't want to be late for your first day of being a senior!"

Rachel froze.

"I'm sorry…what?"

Leroy turned shook his head at his daughter being so silly in the morning.

"First day of senior classes, Rachel! Get up and going, funny girl."

Rachel turned around in left, but her head was in disarray. She wasn't sure what was happening. What did her daddy mean?

She's already gone through her first day as a senior. In fact, she should be in January right now. She raced up to her room and grabbed her phone hastily to take a look.

September 1st.

She then went through her messages and phone call history. She knows she called Finn, Tina, Puck, Kurt, and Quinn. She knows she sent them all a text message.

There was nothing of the sort.

Her last text was to Finn, asking him to make sure he's on time today to pick her up and her last call was to Kurt.

Rachel turned off her phone, looking in her vanity mirror. She's only read stories about things like this or seen them in movies.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She died.

No one came to help her.

She died and however it happened, she's getting a start again.

Rachel sank to the ground against the wall.

She died.

The horrible flashbacks of herself stuck out in the cold, unable to move or talk as she lost all the feeling in her limbs caused Rachel to bolt up to the toilet and empty her stomach.

A slight burn in the back of her throat formed from only puking stomach acid up along with her eyes watering.

A choked sob made its way out as she leaned against the toilet.

She could still feel the coldness in her bones.

* * *

Finn had come to pick her up as per planned, but little talk was made from the lack of effort on Rachel's end. Every time she looked at Finn, she couldn't help but feel sadness, anger, and little betrayal.

She wanted to turn to him and ask why he didn't pick up her phone. Was he that angry with her for rejecting his proposal that he would stop answering his phone even though he had always picked up no matter what before?

Was his anger with her worth that much more than picking up a phone call?

But she couldn't. She couldn't because Finn doesn't remember and this event never happened.

She quickly realized that this was a problem she would face with everyone, especially Quinn who had declined her call and left her without a ride.

She absently thought that she should've never walked home alone intoxicated at night, but she also wondered why Quinn would offer her a ride in the first place and then not.

When they arrived at school, Finn tried to kiss her and she swift dodged it into a cheek kiss instead before saying goodbye hurriedly and running off. When she arrived at her locker, she sighed. Finn was definitely going to think she was acting strange, but she couldn't provide him anything.

Opening her locker, she peered inside and looked at her mirror. She never really got makeup or fashion tips until a month or two later when she let Kurt give her some lessons and looked at magazines together.

She never particularly ended up thinking argyle was ugly, in fact, she still enjoyed it from time to time. Having two father who had little fashion sense to pass onto her and when Shelby decided it was too late to have a teenage daughter, she was left with little help.

Of course, though she had gotten closer to Kurt over time, there was a small part of her that felt cautious whenever Kurt tried to dress her up or give her make up tips. She was more interested in learning by looking at Quinn. Though sundresses were hardly her thing, she tried to mimic Quinn's make up when she was home alone.

By the time January came around, she had somewhat developed her own fashion sense separate from her fathers and Kurt.

So, it could be said that her fashion sense now was 5 months early, but she didn't think it could hurt.

"Hi, Rachel!"

Rachel pulled her head to peek out the door of her locker and found Brittany and Santana walking up to her.

She gave a small smile to the blonde, "Hello, Brittany…Santana."

Santana eyed her as Brittany tilted her head.

"You look good today," Brittany complimented.

Santana squinted her eyes before reluctantly agreeing. "You do look less hideous than usual, hobbit. Summer change you that much?"

Rachel picked at her locker handle gently and shrugged.

"I guess."

The Latina frowned at the lackluster response, clearly thinking there was something wrong with Rachel who didn't even react to her nickname.

Before she could say anything, the bell rung and Rachel closed her locker and walked off without saying anything.

Sighing, she brought up her hands to rub her arms through her long-sleeved shirt. She's been feeling cold all morning.

* * *

Rachel never realized how often she saw her Glee club members until she didn't want to see them.

Her first period had Mercedes who she thoroughly ignored other than a quick hello. She bumped into Kurt and Tina nearly all the time in the hallways, and now she was in English with Sam helping him with the assignment.

She really wanted to not talk to anyone, but she knew that Sam struggled with his dyslexia and felt guilty since she had helped him in the past before.

She quickly helped him through his assignment, even though they usually took their time to work on it together with her explaining step by step the answers.

"Thanks Rach, I really don't know how I'd pass this class without you," Sam quietly said with a big smile on his face. Rachel nodded and gave him a small smile in return.

"No worries," she quickly replied before turning back to her seat.

She let out a quiet sigh, this was already proving to be very difficult.

By the time lunch came, Finn had texted her where she was and she replied that she had things to do and wouldn't be there for lunch.

Rachel went to go sit at the bleachers and was happy to find that no one was there. She felt the anxiety slowly dissipate from her chest as she tried to relax. She pulled her sweater a little closer, wondering why she felt so cold still when it was rather warm out. Perhaps she was catching a cold?

Enjoying the quiet, Rachel let herself relax, trying to unscramble all the thoughts that were in her head since she woke up today.

It was then that she realized something. She hasn't seen Quinn all day. It was at this time that Quinn was going through her punk phase. She was probably out on other side of school smoking with the Skanks.

The diva let out a groan, her head falling into her knees. What was she going to do about that? The only reason Quinn had come back to Glee was because Rachel pestered her and reached out, with Beth being the final reason.

But she didn't think she was mentally ready to face Quinn, so that was not happening for now.

The bell rung again and Rachel just wanted to scream. It was supposed to be chemistry next and she definitely knows that she shares the class with Quinn. She agonized until she remembered that Quinn actually didn't show up for classes until the third day in and that was because on the second day, she had harassed Quinn into agreeing to go to her classes.

Brittany had spotted her immediately and waved her over. Offering a forced smile, Rachel took her seat.

She tried to remind herself that it wasn't Brittany's fault. Sure, the blonde said nothing when she confronted Quinn about a ride, but it's not like she called the girl. She didn't even have her number.

She breathed in deeply. Resolving to try to be normal and move on with her life, she helped Brittany with the assignment questions. A voice in the back her head quietly nagged that these people were never really her friends in the first place, but she ignored it.

She wanted to be normal, she wanted to move on.

She had to.

* * *

Glee meetings were usually on Wednesday, but with the first day of school, Mr. Shue asked to meet briefly to discuss some club specifics.

Everyone has filed in except Quinn and everyone was talking about it.

"Jesus Christ, did you see Quinn today?" Kurt exclaimed. Everyone nodded vigorously.

"Well, she informed us that she's neither joining the Cheerios or Glee this year, that puta." Santana said as she scowled.

Brittany frowned as she bumped her shoulder lightly against the brunette.

"Quinn's a piece of bubblegum that fell in an ashtray." Brittany sadly said and no one except Santana understood by what she meant.

Rachel did not participate in the conversation this time around as she already remembered how this whole fiasco ended and she hadn't quite made up her mind about what to do.

Mr. Shue arrived and everyone had quiet down as he stood in the front. He had also seen Quinn but did not know exactly what quite to say about it. He immediately launches into The Purple Piano Project and Rachel is reluctant in regards to it since she knows the results of it.

She understands that this is to recruit new members, but she's not excited at the prospect of getting food thrown at her again or having a piano set on fire. Rachel also recalls Coach Sylvester running her campaign and threatening to cut the budgets for any arts programs. On top of that, Santana and Quinn had also attempted to sabotage Glee, resulting in Santana being kicked out and Quinn being scolded by Mr. Shue.

If she could, she'd rather skip all that.

Licking her lips hesitantly, she raised her hand.

"Yes, Rachel?"

"I understand this is to help us recruit new members, which I am all for…but perhaps breaking out into song every time we see a purple piano might not be best…"

Mr. Shue looked shocked and before he could say anything, she turned to Kurt.

"Kurt, isn't your boyfriend from Dalton Academy? Perhaps you can try to convince him to transfer here, it would work in everyone's best interest."

Kurt looked at her as if she struck gold and immediately whipped out his phone. Rachel then turned to Mr. Shue.

"If Blaine will join us, then perhaps we can ask Mr. Figgins to put us into a slot for the school orientation rally that will be in three weeks. We can showcase our talent there and perhaps entice new people to join."

Mr. Shue seems to contemplate the idea and looks to other members to see if they also think it was a better idea.

He first went to Finn, and she looked expectantly at her boyfriend.

"Um, I don't know. I kind of like seeing the purple pianos. It'll be fun to sing songs when we see it." Finn said, much to Rachel's disappointment.

As they went around the room, the club was nearly split evenly on what to do. Surprisingly, Santana, Brittany, Puck, Kurt, and Tina had agreed to her area, also not really wanting to break out into song so often.

The other people had decided they wanted to do The Purple Piano. Although, Rachel suspected Mercedes would agree to the anything opposite than what the diva would suggest.

"Come on, guys, we can still have the purple pianos during our showcase or part of another assignment, but do you really want to break into impromptu songs right at the start?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Girl, your ideas are not the be all or end all, maybe some of us actually want to do purple piano."

Gritting her teeth, she breathed deeply as discreetly as she could.

"I'm not saying my idea has to be the way, but I think you'll see merit in it since it would work for everyone."

"You mean work for _you_."

It took all her willpower to not snap back at Mercedes, she never understood why the girl always seemed to have a problem with anything Rachel did.

Mr. Shue sensed on an oncoming fight and clapped his hands to bring the attention back to him. "Alright, alright, we can decide on it next week." He dismissed everyone and Rachel walked off with a huff.

 _'This is going to be a long week,'_ she thought.

* * *

Rachel, for the most part, had managed to avoid Quinn throughout the week, though she felt guilty like she should say something to help the girl through her apparent crisis, while the other part of her thought she might scream at the blonde if she saw her.

Surprisingly, Rachel has just been proficient in avoiding many people, including Azimio.

Finn had been increasingly clingy now that she was the one pulling away and the thought of ending things did come to her mind, but she just felt so unsure about everything.

By the time Glee came again, Rachel had already heard Quinn participate in Sylvester's campaign video and of course, was scolded by Mr. Shue when she came into his office and screamed how Glee ruined her life.

She knows that Santana was also plotting how to ruin Glee for the coach as well, but was waiting on which project we would be taking on.

In the end, she was out-argued and they decided to talk on The Purple Piano project. She tried to explain again how it really would not benefit anyone to do this, but Mercedes just snapped at her.

Rachel was getting more and more fed up, especially when no one, not even Finn, would say anything about snappish behavior Mercedes had.

She took a deep breath and tried to let it go. The next item on the agenda was the West Side Story auditions. Rachel was just as excited as she was the first time around. She and Kurt were talking about which parts they were going to audition for.

"Of course I'm going to go for the lead," Rachel said, smiling.

Kurt smiled back at her and nodded. "I'm going to audition for Tony. We'll totally get it."

At that moment, Mercedes groaned.

"Great, if Rachel is going to audition, we'll never get a shot. Damn girl, try to leave some for us."

The brunette immediately snapped, "What is your problem with me, Mercedes?"

The room went quiet as Mercedes looked shocked that Rachel would say something.

"If you want the lead so bad, maybe you should try putting in the work!"

Mercedes glared at her as she became defensive. "You wouldn't be able to stand it if someone else got the lead other than you!"

"Only because I know I put in the most work to deserve it. You act like I get everything handed to me, but I've dedicated my life to singing, acting, and dancing since I was 3. If someone came along and was actually more suitable than me, put in more work than me, and wanted it more badly than me then I would concede to them."

Mercedes snorted as if she didn't believe a word Rachel said. Looking around the room, everyone was quiet, as if not sure what to say. She looked to Finn who was looking at the roof as if he didn't want to get involved.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she went to grab her bag.

"You know what? Screw this. I don't need to put up with this. You guys can do The Purple Piano Project and I won't audition for the play. I'm quitting Glee."

Without another word, Rachel left the room and everyone was wide-eyed.

Kurt turned to Mercedes. "Girl, you know I love you, but what is up with you lately? You're constantly ragging on Rachel. You know you can audition too, it's not like Rachel can force them to pick her."

Mercedes shrugged it off and rolled her eyes, defending herself. "It's fine guys, she's just throwing another diva tantrum, thought she outgrew that. As if she'll actually quit Glee, this is her whole life. She'll come back in a couple days."

Kurt sighed.

* * *

After a few days, the Glee members were starting to realize that Rachel was quite adamant on not speaking to them. She only talked to Brittany & Sam who really did need help in their subjects (though she often questioned internally why it had to be her). Quinn had barely shown up to class and when she did, refused to speak to Brittany at all.

They sent Finn to go speak with his girlfriend and Rachel was thoroughly unimpressed by his attempt.

"C'mon Rachel, don't be so mad. You should come back, everyone misses you."

The diva scoffed.

"Finn, I'm not coming back. Your misguided attempt to make me feel better so I'd return is also quite poor."

Finn furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? I just want you to come back, it's not the same in Glee without you."

Crossing her arms, she tilted her head. "You haven't talked to me since that day, other than a text telling me to 'not be so dramatic'. You didn't even defend me when Mercedes kept ripping into me. I didn't deserve that Finn. You're supposed to be my boyfriend."

Finn rubbed the back of his head as he looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I'll try to be better from now on."

Usually, this would be enough to assuage Rachel, but she had lived through him saying this so many times, even up to her death he never tried to be better.

"Do you love me, Finn?" Rachel asked after a moment, her arms crossed.

"Of course!" Finn exclaimed.

"Do you see a future with me, like being a part of my dreams and eventually going to New York, even if you don't get into Ohio State?"

The question seemed to surprise her boyfriend, as his mouth was hanging just waiting for an answer to come out.

"Rach…we're not even finished school. Plus the recruiter probably won't come until later in our games. Of course, I love you, but we should wait on big decisions."

Rachel felt her heart breaking as she looked at Finn. A hot sting flashing through her when she confirmed what she pretended to not know the first time around when her boyfriend proposed. Maybe Finn did love her, but she would never be more than an option to him. His dreams and ambitions didn't include any of the things she wanted in her life. She wasn't even sure if it truly included her. He was her leading man, but she was the understudy to him, only clinging to her when he felt he had nothing.

She distantly wondered why all her relationships of any kind never seemed to work out. She knows that she's intense, aggressive, self-involved, talks too much, and can be annoying. Noah kissed her but he did not love her (she didn't love him either) and was quick to move on to anything that breathed. Jesse used her, and Finn, Finn was a combination of both. He would use her to feel good about himself because she believed in him and saw something else than just a dumb jock, but he was so quick to cast her aside or not defend her for his reputation. Her "friends" were no better. Granted, she could only really call Kurt as her friend and they were still developing their friendship really. She hesitantly thought about Quinn, but she would categorize the girl as more of a gray area. Was she the only person to be so dedicated to her relationships?

She can't put herself out like that so recklessly anymore. Her bubbe Anne used to say that she was a wonderful person who loved so fearlessly without knowing any other way.

But now she did know.

And she can't continue on like that, it was going to get her killed.

Rachel's eyes fluttered shut as she thought back to that night and how alone she felt and realized she was.

She was never going to put herself in a position to be hurt…killed again.

Not even for Finn.

She opened her eyes, licking her lips with tears forming as she stared at Finn.

She let out a shuttering breath, "Let's break up."

* * *

The rest of the week passed by and news of Finn and Rachel breaking up had spread around. Some had tried to say it was obviously Finn who left her, but the Glee members knew.

Some had even tried to approach Rachel about it, but she was having none of it.

The Purple Piano Project was carried out and what Rachel expected happened exactly the same as the first time around. They watched her in the cafeteria when food was thrown at them, but Rachel eventually left.

When the next meeting for Glee came around and it was apparent that Rachel was not showing up, people were trying to get Mercedes to go apologize to the girl.

"What? No way! Why should I apologize? Girl is being way damn too dramatic about it. It's not like nothing any of us have complained about before."

Needless to say, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Rachel had spent some time in the auditorium working on an original piece that she could submit to a competition she found in the next town over. When she decided she had done enough for the day, she made her way out into the hallway to her locker. Just as she turned the corner, she bumped into something. Stumbling back slightly, she looked up and paled.

"Damn, Man-Hands, watch where you're going!" Azimio smirked.

Rachel's heart started hammering as she stuttered out an apology, "S-Sorry."

She immediately ran after, exiting the building through the back. Putting her hands against the wall, she found that she was having difficulties breathing.

She closed her eyes, trying to relax the shortness of her breaths.

"Are you okay?"

Rachel snapped her eyes open and looked over to see Quinn standing at the other end, smoking. She was casually leaning against the wall but the way she was holding the cigarette was tense.

Rachel turned away. She sometimes felt like she was dreaming, but something about seeing Quinn in her punk phase really did confirm to Rachel that she was somehow doing everything over again, that she didn't dream everything up.

"Don't mind me, just having a panic attack," she said, trying to go over her breathing exercises.

Quinn didn't say anything else, but she didn't leave either. After a few moments, Rachel was able to calm herself down.

Letting out her last deep breath, she felt exhausted. Glancing over at Quinn once more, she wasn't sure if it was just the nostalgia of already seeing the atrocious way the other girl dressed, but she almost thought the pink hair was cute this time around.

"Got something to say about the new look?" Quinn asked, with a smirk on her lips as she took another drag.

Rachel raised her eyebrow and shook her head.

"Why not? Everyone else seems to have something to say."

Turning her body to face Quinn fully, her arms crossing over her chest.

"While it is clear that you are going through an apparent crisis, it's none of my business, Quinn."

Quinn flicked some of the burning ash and it fell onto the ground. Standing up straighter, she made her way over to Rachel.

"Crisis? Maybe this is the real me, Berry."

Rachel rolled her eyes, she had no patience for these antics the second time around.

"Right…poorly dyed hair, punk clothes, smoking, and hanging out with girls who have no interest in bettering themselves is the real you."

Quinn rolled her eyes at her. "Are you also going to scream at me and tell me Glee was there for me?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, because I think you already know who was there for you during the toughest times of your life and who will continue to be there."

"People change," Quinn said, although it sounded lame.

Rachel sighed and half-turned around, getting ready to leave.

"Quinn, I'm not sure exactly what you want me to say. Do you want me to convince you? Do you want me to tell you that I miss seeing you in the Glee room? Well, unfortunately, I'm not in Glee either. Do you want me to tell you to get it together on the chance you could be in Beth's life, but not if you're like this? I'm sorry you're hurting Quinn. Despite everything, I still believe you're meant for more, but I will not convince you if you don't want to be."

Rachel opened the door to leave but then Quinn had put her hand over her and pushed the door back closed.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rachel turned back to Quinn, who kept her hand past the brunette on the door.

"Why aren't you in Glee?"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel crossed her arms.

"Of all things I tell you, that's what you focus on?"

"Spill it, Berry. Glee is everything to you."

" _Was_. It _was_ everything to me. Of course, I miss it but maybe you're right. People do change." Rachel told Quinn, gently removing the taller girl's hand from the door and wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke. "Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I'm going to go home."

This time, Quinn did not stop her from leaving.

She convinced herself that it was not a twinge of disappointment she felt.

* * *

It seems that sometimes, one interaction does change everything. Rachel seems to think so at least because now she keeps seeing Quinn everywhere she goes. The misfit even showing up to class from time to time.

Currently, Rachel was relaxing in the bleachers when Quinn had shown up again. The shorter girl didn't say anything as Quinn took a seat next to her, slouched back with her legs crossed.

It was when Quinn pulled out a cigarette that Rachel decided to say something.

"Quinn, if you insist on hanging around me, I will ask that you cease on smoking. It's bad for you and smells awful. I don't think I can keep telling my fathers that I passed by a group of chain smokers."

The semi-blonde girl raised her eyebrow at Rachel before putting her cigarette away and Rachel silently felt relief. This had gone on a lot further than it did the first time around and she did not want to feel responsible if Quinn developed cancer later on.

It was quiet again as Rachel worked on her original piece for her competition.

"I heard you and Finn broke up."

Rachel shrugged, continuing on her work.

"Why?"

The brunette sighed through her nose as she put away her work. It was clear she wasn't going to get any more work done since it was apparent Quinn was in a chatty mood today.

"Lots of reasons. We are done for good though."

Quinn looked at her skeptically.

"How do you know for sure? Each time you guys break up, you continuously keep going back to him."

Pulling her jacket closer and softly playing with the zipper.

"What would you say to me if Finn proposed?"

Quinn sat up almost immediately. "Why? Did he?"

The sound of Quinn's panicked and disapproved voice almost caused Rachel to laugh out loud.

"No, but nice to know your stance."

Quinn scowled at her before trying to resume the way she was sitting before. Twirling a piece of her hair, she glared at the diva.

"Why hypothesize then? Did you want to get married to Finn?" She asked with a hint of disdain in her voice.

Rachel shook her head again. "No. I guess that's just part of the reason why to end things. Finn is a great leading man, when he wants to be. Perhaps he's just not my leading man. With how long I've been dating Finn, it's natural to think about what will happen to us once school is over."

Rachel placed her hands in her lap.

"Dating only ends in two ways. You break up or you get married. I am not someone who can 'date for the fun of it'. I don't understand the appeal of being with someone who you intentionally see breaking it off with."

Quinn seemed to contemplate her words, biting her lips as if stopping herself from saying something.

The bell rung and Quinn was off before Rachel could say anything.

After that, she did not see Quinn again for a couple days and she wondered exactly what she had done wrong again to make the taller girl go AWOL. Rachel had to remind herself to consciously not obsess about it and to remember what happened to her. When she thought about how Quinn had always been hot and cold with her, offered her a ride and then pretended she didn't exist, she had enough anger to fuel her into not seeking out the other girl.

In the meantime, the Glee members were in disarray from the negative outcome of The Purple Piano Project. Blaine had transferred over like he did the first time and Santana had sabotaged Glee as well. It looks like they just haven't found out about it yet, but it would be soon.

Finn had kept messaging her every day and she ignored the messages while also trying to avoid seeing him at school.

Rachel stood at her locker, grabbing her books for the next class when Santana showed up, closing her locker, just barely missing her nose. She frowned as she looked at the Latina and found no Brittany in sight.

"While I'm quite sensitive about my nose structure, I have no desire to break it," Rachel told the other girl who only rolled her eyes.

"Come back to Glee, I think this has gone on long enough."

Surprise was the first thing Rachel felt, but then she shook her head.

"It's not my fault you guys ended up doing the project. I told you guys it would benefit no one. You're going to have a lot more problems if you don't let Sugar Motta in the club either."

"How'd you know about her?"

"I saw her in the cafeteria looking interested and I've heard her sing, terribly." Rachel half-lied. She then eyed Santana with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you care? You're also not going to be in Glee soon."

Santana narrowed her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"You think I don't know Sue Sylvester didn't get you involved with trying to destroy Glee for her campaign? You're also a Cheerio, Santana. So, if you want to stay in Glee, it would be best to come clean, apologize, and sing a song."

Crossing her arms, Santana still had her eyes narrowed as she asked, "What makes you think I want to stay in Glee?"

Rachel briefly wondered why everyone seemed to want to be convinced by someone else they want something when they clearly already do.

"I know you like being in Glee. I know you like singing. I know you like being somewhere you can be yourself and being with people who care about you. Also, Brittany is in Glee."

Santana was about to say something to retort it having anything to do with Brittany but Rachel just gave her a look.

"While you may also like being a Cheerio and the activities there, you won't find what you want with the Cheerios or Sue Sylvester."

"Then why won't you also return to Glee for all these same reasons you just gave me?" Santana asked looking slightly annoyed she was called out.

Rachel sighed as she adjusted her textbooks in her arms. "Santana, to be honest, I love being in Glee too. I love singing and dancing with everyone. But I don't feel the same way you do when I'm there with everyone."

The other girl looked like she was going to say something but the bell rang and Rachel turned to leave, leaving the feisty cheerleader to contemplate everything on her own.

The next day, the school rally was scheduled and Rachel was making her way slowly to the gymnasium. Brittany had found her in the morning to happily thank Rachel for speaking to Santana. The cheerleader had actually talked to everyone at Glee after school to admit what she did and apologized and really did sing a song. Apparently, they talked it all out about what Sue Sylvester was looking to do and Santana got to stay in the club.

Rachel was content to how things had turned out, but still told Brittany she was not looking to rejoin the club. As she was dawdling her way to the gymnasium, she briefly remembered how Shelby was going to return if they didn't accept Sugar Motta into the club.

Although the thought of joining the soon-to-be Troubletones passed her mind, she was more concerned about how Puck would basically get with her biological mother and how this would set a whole new chain reaction for Quinn.

While she was hurt over how Shelby abandoned her, she wouldn't wish for all of this to happen again with a chance that Quinn's plans would actually work.

She's already changed too much.

Just as she was turned the corner, she could hear aggressive shouting.

From Quinn.

To Azimio.

"Listen here, Adams, if you don't stay out of my way, I will use this cigarette and burn a goddamn hole through your eye socket! Let's see how you live your life with one eye!"

Rachel was wide-eyed as she listened to Quinn and both her and Azimio jumped when Quinn actually brought her lit cigarette menacingly towards his eye.

She stopped short when her eyes locked with Rachel. There were no words the diva could use to describe the look on Quinn's face.

Azimio used this opportunity to take off looking like his life flashed through his eyes.

Rachel looked back at Quinn, who stood there with her cigarette slowly lowering. Not sure what exactly to do, Rachel strode forward, head held high as she was going to walk past Quinn as if she didn't notice her.

This would be the first time they've actually seen in each other in a couple days and Rachel was still resolved to stay angry.

It was just as she stepped past Quinn that she reached her hand out and grabbed Rachel's.

"Quinn, what are you—" Rachel nearly stumbled when the taller girl pulled her around and into a bone-crushing hug that enveloped the brunette as Quinn pressed her face against Rachel's hair.

Then she felt tears dampening her hair and falling onto her shoulder. The sound of sniffling and the taller girl's shoulder shaking up and down alarmed Rachel.

Quinn was crying.

"Quinn…?" She asked uncertainly, trying to push the girl slightly back to see what the problem was.

Quinn's eyes were red, makeup running slightly, and she looked like a complete mess with tears streaming down.

"I-I can't believe I'm seeing you…you're here…you're not gone…" Quinn mumbled, her fingers gripping more tightly at the shorter girl's sleeve.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What was Quinn talking about? Of course, she was here—she sharply looked at Quinn's eyes…a look of crushing guilt, euphoria, and recognition.

The way Quinn cried as hugged her as if she hadn't seen Rachel in a long time…or thought she would never see her again.

And then it hit Rachel.

"No, it can't be," she whispered out, almost in horror.

Her eyes hardened as she gave Quinn a piercing look.

"Why are _you_ here too?"

* * *

 **Next Time: Quinn's second chance**

 **A/N: What's better than one time traveler? Two! Surprisingly no one has really asked how they went back, but it will be explained-ish later. Also, some reviewers were apologizing because they were getting really worked about Rachel having to be the one to go back and re-do everything. Don't apologize! I'm really happy that my story could make you feel that strongly :)**

 **Well hope to hear your thoughts & see you soon xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - The Lion Decides She's a Lion**

Quinn woke up uncomfortably, groaning at her head as she sat up.

 _'What the hell…'_ she internally moaned at the pounding in her head. It was like a hangover.

When she opened her eyes, confusion and a mild panic set over her. Why was she on the floor…next to some cigarettes and empty liquor bottles? She looked over sharply when she heard soft groaning. She saw a couple bodies she found unsettlingly familiar.

Why was she at the shanks?

Was this a dream?

The last thing she remembered was talking to Frannie & then going to sleep.

She looked at her hands and found herself shaking looking at the hideous gloves with no fingers she wore at the beginning of the semester. Stumbling to get up and to the washroom, she turned the lights on.

A sharp yelp left her mouth before she silenced herself.

' _Okay…don't freak out…this is a dream…'_ Quinn told herself as she touched her pink hair delicately. Just as she was about to leave the washroom, someone slammed the door right into her foot as they stumbled in.

Quinn's face immediately contorted in pain as she lifted her foot to cradle in her hand and tried not to scream bloody murder.

 _'Not a dream! Not a dream! Not a dream!'_ Quinn screeched in her head, knowing full well this type of physical pain in her pulsating foot could not be dreamed of.

She glared at the offending skank who tumbled in and was now hovering over the toilet.

"Fucking bitch," Quinn mumbled under her breath as she quickly left with a slight limp. Hurrying out to her car, she immediately took off.

Even though the pain in her foot woke her up plenty, she wasn't sure if she could admit or even explain what was happening to her.

School.

She needed to get to school.

Quinn refused to say it out loud or even think about it too firmly in her mind, but if she was Quinn from the beginning of the semester…then…maybe…maybe she'd get to see the beginning of the semester Rachel. Even if this was a dream, it was better than nothing.

Pulling up to her parking spot, she put herself in park and noticed a box of cigarettes. She wrinkled her nose at it and stuffed it into her pocket. She might as well dispose of it.

Making her way in, she absently thought about how she needed to get hair-dye today. Quinn noticed many students walking in the hall, making their way to the gym. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was just before 10m.

"Hey, what's going on?" Quinn asked, pulling a student aside that she didn't recognize. Must be a freshman, she thought. He looked slightly scared.

"T-The school rally is today." He answered quickly and scurried off to walk with his friends.

 _'School rally?'_ Quinn thought.

She was only a little over 3 weeks in. Looking back to herself, she frowned. That didn't make any sense. She distinctly remembered being back to herself by the second week and had gone back to Glee because of Rachel and Beth as the final push.

Why was she still dressed like this?

Her stomach sank as she thought maybe Rachel isn't here either. Maybe she was still gone. She would never get to see Rachel again. The hallways began to clear out, leaving Quinn to wander alone. Putting her hands into her pocket, she felt the cigarette box and pulled it out.

She chuckled bitterly, _'One more for the road, I guess.'_

Lighting the cigarette, she threw the rest of the trashcan and took a drag, not caring that she was still inside the building.

Her eyes drifted over when she noticed someone turning the corner.

Then she saw red.

Azimio Adams.

Walking around on his phone, not rotting in jail as he should be. He looked up, smirking at her as he approached closer.

"Hey, skank," he chuckled, "you're stinking up the place. Smoke outside, ya freak."

"Fuck off, Azimio." Quinn scowled, holding her cigarette tightly. She pushed herself off the wall and went to walk away.

She would kill him if she didn't.

Azimio pushed her back in front of him.

"Listen, skank—"

Quinn snapped.

"Listen here, Adams. If you don't stay out of my way, I will use this cigarette and burn a goddamn hold through your eye-socket! Let's see how you live your life with one eye!" She menacingly brought the lit cigarette to his eye, feeling a sick satisfaction seeing the jock look scared out of his wits. When she saw someone else from the corner of her eye, she froze.

' _It…can't be…'_ she thought. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. It had to be because there could no way that Rachel Berry was standing at the end of the hallway, looking shocked to see her.

Was it really a dream?

She looked beautiful. Just like how Quinn dreamed of her for the last few weeks.

No, she looked _better._ She looked alive.

And that was far better than any dream Rachel. She didn't even realize how long she had been staring until Rachel was walking past her.

Quinn shot her hand out and grabbed Rachel's wrist. There was no way in hell she would let Rachel Berry go again. Pulling at the girl's wrist so that Rachel would turn around, Quinn pulled Rachel towards her and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl tightly, ignoring Rachel's concerned voice.

Quinn was cursing internally in her head. She never thought she would be able to hold Rachel again. The soft smell of raspberry and vanilla filled her nose and Quinn swore she felt her heart break a little more.

She doesn't even care if this is a dream, she will make the most of it and hold Rachel for as long as she can. The fresh image of Rachel in her casket brought tears to the blonde's eyes. The tears falling onto the brunette's shoulder and sniffling prompted Rachel to pull away, calling her name in a concerned, confused manner.

Quinn didn't let Rachel pull away too far, keeping the girl close in her personal space by holding onto Rachel's sleeves. She mumbled how she couldn't' believe how she was Rachel (also touching her), how the girl wasn't gone. She was mostly mumbling to herself but Rachel seemed to catch it.

Quinn watched the confusion settle in Rachel, but then the diva was giving her a piercing look and said something that made Quinn's stomach sink.

"Why are _you_ here too?"

* * *

"Yes, Quinn, for the last time I am really here."

"How long?"

Rachel shrugged. "A little over three weeks, I guess. I 'woke up' on the first day of senior year."

Quinn stopped pacing around and turned to face Rachel who was sitting.

"That's the same time you…you…" The words couldn't seem to come out.

"Died?" Rachel spat out harshly.

Quinn flinched as the brunette let out a shaky breath, but she didn't seem to be going to be saying anything else regarding the matter. To be honest, the blonde didn't really know what she wanted to say about it either. There was so much that wanted to come out of her mouth, but Quinn was afraid it would come out like word vomit.

Rachel then looked up at her. "Why are you here? I could see me getting a second chance, but why are you here with me?"

Looking back at Rachel, Quinn could see how tired the girl looked, how aged she seemed and it broke her heart.

"I don't know, Rachel," Quinn croaked. "But you have no idea how much I prayed for this, how much I wished for it."

The shorter girl shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with where this talk was going. Rachel was clenching her jaw and Quinn could tell she was holding back what she wanted to say, which was a first.

So Quinn shifted the topic and went to sit next to Rachel.

"Either way, no matter how we got here, it's a chance. It a chance to get it right."

Rachel scoffed. "You say that as if I somehow did it wrong the first time."

"Rachel, You know that I'm talking about myself to get it right with you."

The jaw clenching was happening again and Quinn sighed before looking down at herself. "Why am I still dressed like this? You had me back in Glee by the second week."

Using her fingers, Rachel delicately swept her bangs. "I didn't want to talk to you when I came back. I'm not in Glee either. Besides, I believe Shelby will be showing up in a couple days and I believe Beth would be enough for you to stop your…phase."

It felt like a knife stabbed Quinn's heart to hear Rachel say that she didn't want talk to her, that she would've left the blonde broken like this, but it was retribution for everything she did to Rachel, how she let the girl down.

Wait.

"You quit Glee?"

The diva shrugged.

"I tried to change somethings, but no one stood with me. Actually, I kept getting ragged on and Finn didn't come to my defense either, which I don't know why I expected him to this time around. I'm not coming back to Glee."

"Rach—"

"No, Quinn!" The brunette snapped, gripping the armrests of the chair. "You don't—you don't _know_ what it was like! Or what it even feels like to face everyone again. I—I know I've never belonged and I'm quite aware of my personality, but I still _loved_ Glee & everyone in it. But you know what? No one in Glee loved me. If this is my second chance, I'm not going to put myself through that again."

Quinn was openly crying in front of Rachel because now they were face to face. She had to face Rachel like it was the night after she didn't drive the girl home or pick up her calls. She got out her seat and immediately knelt in front of the brunette, grabbing her hands into her own.

"No, no, no Rachel, that's not true at all. Your… _death_ …changed everything. You have no idea how broken we were after you were gone. About that night…I'm so, so sor—"

Rachel ripped her hands out of Quinn's and stood up. Her face was pale as she faced the blonde.

"No. _No_. I don't want to hear it, Quinn. I don't want to hear about your regrets that night. I don't want to hear you say you're _sorry_ , because there's no way I can accept it right now."

With that, Rachel took off out of the auditorium, leaving Quinn behind.

"Rachel!"

It didn't even break in the brunette's stride.

When a hush fell over the auditorium, Quinn yelled in frustration.

"Fuck!" She screamed, as leaned back against the stage and sank down.

Heavy breath, Quinn buried her face into her hands.

She just needed a moment. It hurt. It hurt so fucking back that Rachel was hurting. All she wanted to do was pull the girl into her arms and kiss Rachel until they couldn't breathe. To savor the feeling of just _feeling_ the shorter girl because she was alive. She was alive and Quinn was resolved to not fuck it up this time.

Wiping her tears, she got up. There was a lot to do to earn Rachel's forgiveness, to give the diva the life she deserved, and she can't accomplish that with pink dyed hair, gaudy clothes and makeup, and no social standing.

* * *

By the time Judy came home to see Quinn, she looked more relieved than she ever did in her life seeing her daughter without pink hair, piercings, or the overdone makeup.

"Quinnie, honey?" She cautiously spoke.

"Hey, mom," Quinn greeted softly. Judy came over and sat down next to Quinn on the couch, where the girl was reading a book.

"Are you…okay?" Judy asked for the lack of knowing what to say.

Quinn shrugged. While she did grow closer to her mother as the year went on, she never had to face coming out to her mom, she wasn't even sure if she was brave enough to do it yet.

Judy threw her arm around Quinn's shoulder and pulled her close. "You really scared me there, Quinn. I didn't know who you were."

Quinn gave her a half-hearted smile and a morose reply, "I'm still not really sure who I am, to be honest…"

Judy sympathetically rubbed her daughter's shoulder. "Well, honey, you're Quinn Fabray, my daughter, a brave little lady. The rest is up to you."

Leaning her head against her mother's shoulder, she closed her eyes. For now, that would have to be enough.

For now, Quinn would earn Rachel's forgiveness first before wishing for more.

"Hey," Quinn spoke after a moment. "Have you checked in on Frannie lately?"

* * *

Quinn turned heads when she walked down the hall. She was wearing a simple sundress and dyed her hair back to blonde. Her hair was short, but now she looked matured as she should've. It was clear that whatever the ex-cheerleader went through, she was no longer going through so aggressively at least.

The blonde stopped short of Santana's locker with Brittany who was also standing there. The brunette eyed Quinn before looking away back into her locker.

"San," Quinn spoke softly.

The Latina looked back at her, "What?" She snapped.

Quinn sighed. She knew this would be a difficult endeavor, she had, after all, told them they were no longer friends.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was clearly having a crisis, I'm over it now—mostly. Can we just blame it on post-baby craziness?"

Santana's lip twitched, but she remained stony-faced. "Post-baby craziness was for last year."

"I've always been a late bloomer."

Her friend cracked a smile, unable to hold it in. She sighed and Brittany happily jumped up and down and dove into Quinn's arms.

"Finally! Lord Tubbington was wondering where you went." Brittany happily sighed as she pulled back.

Quinn grinned and looked at the two girls. "So, seems like I missed a whole bunch of crazy things. Fill me in?"

The three girls chatted at their lockers until it was time to go to class. By then, Quinn had gathered important information.

Rachel quit Glee—she already knew that one. Rachel didn't audition for West Side Story, and not that it mattered (it did), Rachel broke up with Finn.

Quinn spent her morning class thinking about what exactly her plan of action was. She felt like she could finally breathe with Rachel here and it was very clearly obvious that Rachel did not want to talk about what happened that night.

Quinn wasn't even sure if she was ready to hear it, she thinks she might kill Azimio before vomiting. But eventually they would have to talk about it, it would be Quinn's only way to truly understand and repent.

The first thing she needed to do was, return to Glee and get Rachel to return. She debated whether or not she would return to the Cheerios.

She didn't need it, but it would certainly help if she wanted to keep slushies away from Rachel.

But she wasn't exactly excited to return to the Cheerio's culture, though she did love the activities and competitions. So, she was going to get Sue Sylvester to compromise (mostly join her way or no way at all).

Most importantly, she was going to make sure Azimio stayed the fuck away from Rachel. She was going to make sure he doesn't get an inkling that he can do whatever he wants.

When the bell rang, Quinn quickly made her way to her next class. It was Chemistry. She would get to see Rachel. She was seated in her seat patiently waiting for the diva and when Rachel entered, Quinn's breath hitched. The brunette looked a little flustered as she walked in, fixing her bangs and looking a little breathless. She spotted Quinn and seemed to hesitate for a quick second before continuing on and making her way to sit next to Quinn.

She eyed the girl's attire, seemingly content with her inspection before turning back to her notebook.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked delicately.

Rachel nodded, blowing her bangs lightly before brushing them again. "Finn decided that it was the opportune moment to trap me in the hall to discuss our non-existent relationship. It was extra cardio to escape and make it on time here."

Quinn pursed her lips. She definitely didn't forget how that idiot proposed to Rachel, but now she knew Rachel said no.

But Rachel didn't know that she knew.

"Can I ask why you broke up?"

"I think you know perfectly why, Quinn."

"Maybe, but I want to hear it in your words."

Rachel took a deep breath as she gripped her notebook a little, crumpling the pages slightly. She turned to Quinn and exhaled.

"Quinn, I'm not sure if you're deliberately ignoring the hints, but I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to share what happened _that_ night. I don't want to talk about my thoughts about it. I know that may seem strange as I'm known to be a chatterbox, but even I have things I don't want to talk about, Quinn."

Rachel was gripping her pen as she spoke, but she relaxed slightly when she felt the pen succumbing under pressure.

"That being said, obviously I don't think things will work out between Finn and I going forward. I cared too much and he didn't care enough. Happy?"

Quinn bit her lip, feeling thoroughly scolded but nodded. Before she could say anything else, Brittany hopped over from behind and greeted them both.

"Rachel! Can you help me go over the homework? I think I did it right."

Rachel was going to nod when another voice spoke up.

"Hey B, how about I go over it with you? We can catch up too." Quinn intervened, relieved when Brittany nodded excitedly and went back to her desk to pull out her paper.

Quinn gave Rachel a small smile as if apologizing for bringing up unpleasant memories for Rachel earlier and joined Brittany.

The diva bit her lip, trying to resolve herself to not feel bad for snapping at Quinn. She supposed a part of her felt relieved that she wasn't alone anymore, that there was someone who understood her and was a part of what happened. Following that though, she also hated that Quinn returned as well. A part of her wanted to hide away from Quinn, feeling scared that someone else knew what happened to her and it was like all those ugly feelings of being scared, alone, and betrayed threatened to surface up again.

Rachel idly wondered if they would both to continue on with their lives or would Quinn confront her until she had nowhere to hide.

* * *

Although Quinn shared other classes with Rachel after chemistry, she let the diva be in fear she might upset Rachel even further. She was resolved to stop hurting Rachel with her second chance. When after school came, Quinn gave Rachel a small smile as the girl left. After giving Azimio a threatening look as she passed him down the hallway, she made her way to the one woman she half-respected and also half thought was the incarnate of the devil.

She stepped into the office.

"Well, well, I guess you've dropped your 2004 Avril Lavigne look."

Quinn looked unimpressed and didn't answer to that. Instead, she took a deep breath and put her hands on the desk as she leaned forward.

"I want captaincy back, coach."

Sue Sylvester raised her eyebrow. "And why should I give it to you? You're giving me whiplash of how fast you are on and off the team."

Quinn pushed on, "You can't win nationals without me."

Leaning back in her chair, Sue narrowed her eyes. "What makes you say that?"

A smirk appeared on Quinn's lips. "I saw the piss poor practice. The girls are starting to get lax and no one has the discipline and acrobatics like me. Also, I would hate for you to lose the championship while Glee is on the rise. I can't imagine that will look good for your budget next year."

Sylvester seemed to contemplate what Quinn said before suspiciously eyed her student.

"Alright, I'll bite. What is it that you want?"

Standing back up, Quinn adjusted her bag on her shoulder. " A deal. I'll win you your championship and all the glory and money that comes with it. But, I want you to let me run the squad, the hierarchy, and back decisions I make."

Sylvester raised her brow with a small smirk. "Is this about Berry?"

Quinn clenched her jaw but didn't reply, glaring at her coach. Sylvester rolled her eyes and waved her hand light to placate Quinn. "Relax blondie, I hardly care, but anyone using 2% of their brain can see the gay angsty panic thing you've got going on."

Rolling her eyes, Quinn replied reluctantly. "Then yes, it is about her."

Her coach looked mildly impressed as she regarded Quinn. "I'm impressed, Fabray. Didn't think you'd ever get your head out of your ass and go get what you want. Unless you already got her."

Quinn shook her head with a small smile.

"No, but I will. I'm a Fabray, and you know what they say about Fabrays."

"Fabrays get what they want. Alright Q, your uniform will be ready for you tomorrow. Don't be late for practice & don't disappoint me again." Sylvester smirked and dismissed Quinn with the wave of her hand.

Leaving the room, Quinn let out a deep breath. It was never easy getting what you wanted with the coach. The crazy woman wanted to you to find the perfect balance between convincing her and blackmailing or threatening her.

 _'Okay,'_ Quinn thought. ' _I'm Head Cheerio. I have the power to protect Rachel.'_

She let out a small smile, pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Santana's number. No one like the hot-headed fiery brunette to help her with her first edict.

* * *

The next morning came and Rachel was sitting at the bleachers again working on her composition with a jacket and some hot tea. It was getting frustrating that she felt a constant chill. She always had to wear sweaters of cardigans and no longer wore anything that exposed her legs too much. it helped but not by much. It was the worst at night when she tried to go to sleep, but it seemed there wasn't much she could do other than bundle up.

The brunette noticed that Quinn didn't join her this morning and a flash of disappointment hit her before she saw the Cheerios finishing practice out on the field. Seeing a familiar flash of short blonde hair, she realized that Quinn was out there too.

Rachel initially felt a little reserved that Quinn was back on the team, but she stomped the feeling out. The diva reasoned that this was Quinn's opportunity to get the things she wanted, and she knew Quinn wanted her place on the squad, to belong, and get win prom queen. Still, it did make Rachel cautious. Perhaps they were always meant to be different people, going separate ways.

Even after the field was empty, she stayed until the bell rang. Slowly making her way back in, Rachel scolded herself for sulking the entire time. The moment she stepped in, she immediately realized that people were staring at her and giving her a wide berth to walk. Feeling self-conscious, Rachel opened her locker and looked in the small mirror she hung. There didn't seem to have anything physically wrong with her. She didn't know what to make of it until Kurt came up to her locker.

"Hey, Rachel," Kurt cautiously greeted since she hasn't spoken to him since she quit Glee.

"Hello, Kurt," Rachel greeted back before looking around, "What's going on? Why is everyone staring at me like I opened up the gates the hell and doomed us all?"

The boy gave her a small smile, seemingly happy that Rachel was talking to him. He gave a dramatic smile. "Haven't you heard, honey? There's a slushy ban on you."

Rachel's eyes widened. "What? What do you mean?"

Kurt looked around before leaning in. "It happened earlier this morning. Quinn's back as Head Cheerio and the first thing she did was announce that if anyone slushied you or literally did anything to you, their high school life was over. Santana literally shoved Azimio so hard into a locker that he's limping when he made a comment. They were quite harsh on him. I wonder if he did anything to piss Quinn off."

Rachel slowly took in the news. What was happening? What was Quinn _doing_? She muttered to Kurt she'd see him later and stalked off to find the blonde.

"Quinn!" She called out, spotting the girl standing at her locker with some other Cheerios. Quinn turned around, her hands on her hips and Rachel had aggressive flashbacks to when she saw the blonde for the first time as a cheerleader.

"What does _she_ want?" Rachel heard a Cheerio mutter sullenly and Quinn gave her a threatening glare that shut the girl right up. She flicked her wrist and dismissed the other girls as the diva approached.

"Rachel, what's wrong? You're going to be to be late for homeroom."

Rachel didn't answer her but waited for the hallways to clear out until it was just the two of them. She let out a sigh as she faced the cheerleader.

"Quinn, what are you doing? Why are you threatening people over me?"

The blonde looked shocked as if she somehow truly believed that Rachel wouldn't ever find out about it.

"Well…" Quinn started. "If I don't threaten, then people won't listen." She stated as if it was obvious.

Rachel huffed. "Quinn, if you do drastic things like this then you're going to lose your popularity over me. This is your second chance. I know you want everything you didn't get."

Quinn shook her head, "No, Rachel. My second chance isn't about me. It's about you. I don't care if this makes me look like a bitch or hurts my chances at prom queen. I care about _you_. So if I have to threaten every student and make Azimio's life a living hell for him to understand to stay away from you, I will do it."

Rachel sucked in a breath.

"Do…you know…?" She asked timidly. Quinn knew that Rachel was asking if she knew who murdered her.

"Yes," Quinn replied evenly after a moment. "Puck found out after your…funeral. He deserved more than the living shit beaten out of him and jail time."

Gripping her shoulder bag a little tighter at the straps, Rachel didn't say anything again. Quinn let out a deep sigh.

"Rachel," she softly called. When the brunette made eye contact, the blonde dropped her hands from her hips.

"I know I was an awful friend and that I really, really hurt you and royally fucked up. But I do really care about you. I'll do everything I can to show you that. I understand you don't want to talk about what happened yet and I can wait. For now though, please come back to Glee with me."

Rachel's heart was thudding as she listened to Quinn so passionately apologize to her. While she still felt reserved, she couldn't deny that a part of her was happy to hear the blonde express how important she was to Quinn. Once upon a time, that was all the diva ever wanted.

"I'll…I'll think about it." Rachel conceded. Quinn nodded and then held her arm out to the shorter girl.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your class. I'll tell the teacher Sylvester needed you so you're not marked late."

Tentatively looping her arm around Quinn's, Rachel gave her a small smile as they walked.

"Okay."

* * *

 **Next Time: Friendship is tentative. Quinn's trying to hold everything together and pushes Rachel maybe just a little too far.**

 **A/N: Okay...so I did look up glee wiki to go over the timeline again and** ya'll **never** said **anything about me having Sam there LOL well it's too late now. So Sam didn't leave I guess LOL**

 **I don't think I have much to say other than thanks for the reviews! I really do love reading them!**

 **See you soon xoxo**


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